Dream A Little Dream Of Me
by debbiexmx
Summary: it's 1912, and Jack Dawson is getting ready to go back to America with his family. However he keeps seeing a girl in his dreams. He tried to forget about it but finds it even more difficult when he starts to see her around town. Jack would probably be able to deal with this, if he wasn't already with someone else. Why is he dreaming about her and what should he do?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – This is my first fanfiction for Titanic which actually takes place at the time so please bear with me, I'm a little nervous about doing it and I really hope I do it justice. This won't be a long story, probably less than 10 chapters and as always, would really appreciate your feedback and reviews. Thanks!**

**Chapter 1**

_She smiled as she felt the soft hand touch her pale cheek. His fingers entwined in her curly auburn hair and he gazed deep into her eyes, drinking all of her in. She was beautiful, possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He moved closer to her and leaned forward, resting his lips on her forehead, and kissed her softly. He pulled back and tried to take in every detail of her. He memorised the exact colour of her hair, the shade of her eyes and the tone of her skin. She was too good for him. He glanced down at the rags he was dressed in, then back at her. She was like an angel, dressed in a detailed cream a-line dress which had a large red fabric belt covering her petite waist. Her hair was pinned up on her head with only a few loose curls falling down the side of her face. He didn't want to forget anything from that moment. He leaned forward and kissed her again, pulling her tight to him. He smiled as he felt her warmth radiate to him._

"_Jack...?" he heard her say. He pulled away from her and looked down at her. He smiled and went to hug her again, but suddenly he felt as though he was hugging thin air, as though she wasn't there. He looked again and just like that, she was gone._

"Jack!"

Jack opened his eyes slowly. He looked around him, trying to make sense of where he was. He looked around the dark room and realised he was lying in his large bed, the sheets were tangled up around his legs and his night shirt had slipped up around his waist.

"Jack!" a sudden knocking at the door startled him. "Are you awake? It's after 9."

Jack rubbed his eyes and swung his legs out of his bed and started to walk across the bedroom towards the door, slowly opening it.

"Finally!" The small blonde headed girl stood in front of him, impatiently tapping her foot on the carpet. "I thought you were never going to get up. Come on, cook has the breakfast ready." She leaned forward and kissed Jack gently on the cheek before flouncing away down the long hallway. Jack sighed and closed the down before making his way over to the bathroom so he could wash. As he ran the water over his chest, he thought back to the dream. He thought of this woman who had haunted his dreams for as long as he could remember but yet he had no idea who she was. Jack had never seen her before but there was something about her, something special. She had crept into his subconscious on and off for the past few months and Jack felt guilty that he was thinking about another woman, even though he had done nothing wrong. He thought about Grace, the young woman who had just kissed him, and who loved him dearly and he felt terrible that he was having dreams about someone else. Shaking his head, he grabbed a towel and quickly dried himself off before walking back through to the bedroom and dressing. Jack pulled on his trousers and buttoned up his shirt before tying a neckerchief around his neck. After washing his face, he quickly smoothed his dirty blonde hair back out of his face and slipped on his shoes. Jack sighed as he pushed the thought of the dream woman from his mind and made his way downstairs where the odour of bacon and eggs assaulted his sense of smell.

"Oh, good morning Mr Dawson." Trudy smiled as Jack appeared in the dining room and took his seat at the top of the large table. Grace was sitting next to him, slowly slipping the hot tea that Trudy, the maid, had poured for her.

"I'm surprised your breakfast isn't cold darling." Grace smiled, making reference to his tardiness.

Jack shrugged and began eating the food that had been put down in front of him. He looked around the room, glancing over his surroundings. He and Grace were living in a large Victorian house in rural England, just outside the city of London. They had been staying there for several weeks but now, the next day, they would be making their way back to their home state of Wisconsin. Jack had uprooted his family for business and although he had Grace weren't married, she had followed him when he announced he would need to leave America. They had been courting for several months and Jack had grown fond of her. His father was keen that he married sooner rather than later and was anxious for the woman whom he married to provide him with an heir to the family business. When Grace had been introduced to the Dawson's at a gala the previous year, she had taken quite a shine to Jack. He was only 20 years old and wasn't in any rush to get married. He wanted to see the world before he settled down and as fond of Grace as he was, he just didn't see himself marrying her.

"Good morning all." Jack's thoughts were interrupted by the tall man who appeared in the doorway.

"Good morning Father." Jack nodded to him. John Dawson quickly walked across the room, clearly making the servants nervous with his presence.

He sat down at the other end of the table and snapped his fingers to one of the maids, signalling for them to fill up his china cup. Jack cringed. Although he lived in this world, he never truly felt a part of it. He never felt as though he belonged and hated telling someone what to do, ordering the servants around. When his father wasn't around, Jack would laugh and kid around with them, knowing that if he ever saw him, he wouldn't hear the end of it but at the end of the day, Jack wanted to behave like any other 20 year old. He wanted to have fun and laugh and joke, not be confined to this boring life. He loved to draw. Jack remembered back to when he was younger and he would disappear for hours on end into nearby woods and find a clearing that he could sit down in and let his imagination take control. Now he could only draw late at night when no one else was around. Sighing, Jack quickly finished his breakfast and got up from the table.

"Going somewhere son?" John asked him, peering at him over his glasses.

Jack spun round and looked at him. "Just need some fresh air. I'm going to go into the village for a while."

John nodded and went back to eating his breakfast and reading his paper. "Send for Lovejoy. He'll accompany you." He murmured between bites.

"I'm fine." Jack insisted. "I'm just going to walk. It's not far."

"Hmmm." John clearly didn't look happy. He didn't like Jack disappearing off without taking his manservant with him but he wasn't in the mood for arguing with him. "Don't be long."

"I won't." He glanced over at Grace who was staring at him. "Good morning." He nodded to them as he disappeared from the dining room. He made his way upstairs and dressed more appropriately. Jack knew it was something that his father hadn't made an issue of him going out alone so he didn't want to give him any reason to get annoyed by going out in the wrong attire. He made his way back downstairs and lifted his morning coat and hat from the coat hook before opening the front door and walking out into the warm air.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jack slipped his hands into his pockets as he walked along the street towards the town. Their house was just on the outskirts of London, in a town called Harpenden. The town had become more and more industrial over the last 50 years with the introduction of a railway system and Jack always preferred coming into this area of Hertfordshire rather than going into the centre of London. He enjoyed the quietness rather than the hustle and bustle of the city. He envisioned meeting an amazing woman and making her his wife. They would live on a large farm in an area such as this where they would watch their kids run around the fields together. Jack knew that was his perfect life, not being a business man constantly sitting in meetings, throwing his money around, thinking he was something that he really wasn't. Jack immediately thought of his dream woman again. He remembered that she was dressed as though she came from his world, but suddenly Jack remembered how he was dressed. He was wearing worn clothes which looked as though they had been through the wars. He wasn't sure what that meant. Perhaps it was signalling that this was how he wished he lived. Instead of being surrounded by material things and money, he craved a simpler life.

Jack looked up ahead of him as he heard the sound of an automobile coming towards him. Being part of a wealthy family, he had had the advantage of being chauffeured around in one of these cars. "Tin Lizzie" they called them in the papers. Jack nodded to the driver as he passed, clearly carrying a rich couple on their way somewhere. After a few more minutes, Jack arrived in the village and made his way to a large park which sat in the middle of the town. He reached into his inside pocket of his coat and lifted out a few scrap pieces of paper and opened a tin which held charcoal sticks for him to draw with. Jack sat down on a bench and looked around for something to catch his eye. He eventually settled on an old man sitting on an opposite bench. He was staring into space, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world. The sun shone down on him and he wiped his brow with a faded white handkerchief from his breast pocket before replacing his hat. Jack quickly put chalk to paper and started drawing, taking in every part of the man and easily transferring it onto the paper. Jack continued to draw, ignoring the people who walked past him, looking down at him with disgust and confusion. They saw a very well-to-do man sitting attired in the best clothes of the time but yet he was drawing. It was such a common past time and not something that a man of his social standing should be wasting his time with. Jack kept focused. He had gotten used to those stares whenever he wanted to draw, especially from Grace and his father. Jack missed his mother, she had died only a few short years before but he remembered her like he had last seen her the day before. Jack knew that his father missed her also but he refused to acknowledge that. As far as he was concerned, he mourned her at the time and now he had moved on. He had taken a mistress in the last year, a woman who Jack rarely saw, but was well aware of.

Jack lifted the sheet of paper and gently blew the excess coal away. He quickly signed and dated it, writing "JD. April 9th 1912" He smiled at his work before folding the paper and placing it back inside his coat pocket along with the tin of charcoal pieces. Jack looked around him, glancing over the people's faces that were walking around. A woman dressed in a typical day dress walked past him. She had a large hat covering her face and held a parasol in her hand. Walking alongside her were two children. Jack guessed they couldn't be much older than seven or eight years which he found surprising given how young the woman looked. She had a servant girl following dutifully behind her so Jack figured she must belong to one of the families who lived in the area. Despite how long Jack and his family had been staying in the area, he hadn't had much chance to get to know anyone in the nearby houses. Jack smiled as the little girl walked past him. She grinned at him before walking quicker to catch up with her mother. Jack stood up and began to make his way along the path to the other side of the park, tilting his hat at those who passed him, before finally coming to the River Lea's banking. Jack stopped at the side of the river and lifted up a few pebbles from the ground and skimmed them across the water. He sighed as he watched the stones sink to the bottom and lifted another from the ground. Just before he threw it in, something caught his eye from across the other side. He lifted his hat slightly and squinted his eyes from the offending sunlight to try and see what had distracted him. The first thing he noticed was the brightness of the brilliant redness of her hair. She had it hanging loosely down past her shoulders and it fell in loose curls. She was dressed in an off white long dress with a high neckline and long sleeves. Jack could tell that she didn't belong to any of the wealthy families that lived about. She certainly didn't dress that way so he could only assume that she was of a lower class. Jack stared at her for what seemed like hours. He couldn't help but feel that she looked like the woman from his dreams.

_That's ridiculous._ He thought to himself but he was reminded of her when he looked at this woman. She had the same coloured hair and her skin looked like porcelain, almost like a doll. Jack continued to stare at her, almost mesmerised by her. She was looking down at the water, with sadness in her eyes. She hadn't noticed Jack watching her and continued to look deep into the river, as though she was waiting for answers, something to guide her, tell her what to do. Jack felt a pang in his heart, he felt drawn to her, as though his dream had been pointing him in her direction all along.

"Mr Dawson." A voice called out to him and brought him quickly back to reality. Jack looked around and saw Lovejoy walking towards him. He sighed and rolled his eyes, turning back to the river. The woman was now looking at him; clearly she had also been disturbed by Lovejoy's unnecessarily loud voice. Jack smiled at her and nodded his head but she quickly put her head down and turned away from him, almost running away from the river. Jack watched after her, wondering where she was going. He suddenly felt sad that he would probably never see her again. He found himself wishing that he didn't have to go back to America so soon, although he knew he probably would never be able to be involved with her. His father would never allow it. Turning back around once the girl disappeared from view, he was faced with Lovejoy.

"You've been gone for some time Sir, you're father asked me to come and fetch you." He insisted.

Jack pulled the pocket watch from his coat and realised he had been gone for several hours. He hadn't noticed how long he had been wandering around the park. Jack nodded and followed Lovejoy back to the waiting car. He glanced back, hoping to catch a glimpse of the young woman again.

_If I don't see you again, I'm sure you will visit me in my dreams once again. _He thought to himself.

...

"Jack, where have you been?" His father greeted him from the front door as he and Lovejoy arrived back.

"Just wandering around." He answered, walking past his father and into the house.

"You need to make sure you have everything for tomorrow. I have told Trudy to pack your things. Everything has been taken care of. Now, it is almost time for dinner. Why don't you go and dress?" John almost ordered him. Jack nodded and made his way up the staircase to his room. He could hear gentle humming on his way and found Grace sitting at her dressing table brushing her hair. She caught sight of him standing in the doorway.

"Jack! Where have you been?" she cried, standing up and walking towards him. "I've been worried sick about you."

"I went to the park." Jack shrugged. He couldn't force himself to feel sorry for disappearing all day. He needed to get away from all this. He felt bad because Grace hadn't done anything wrong, she had fallen in love with him but he couldn't make himself feel the same way.

"Right, well go change for dinner. We have a big day tomorrow. We need to leave quite early." Grace was clearly excited. Jack could only manage half a smile. They were making their way to Southampton first thing in the morning to set sail on the largest ship in the world, the Titanic. Jack had been reading about it in the paper over the last few weeks and people were extremely excited about it all. This was to be the grandest ship ever built. Jack's father had ensured they would be able to travel on her maiden voyage after he had met the chairman of the White Star Line, Bruce Ismay, at a recent business meeting. He was keen on rubbing shoulders with the world's elite. It would no doubt prove good for business and he wanted Jack to meet these people as well for when he would take over from his father.

That night, Jack had sat quietly at the table, listening to the pointless conversations that encircled him. His father had invited some of his business associates for dinner and Jack had tried to keep involved with the discussions but he found himself switching off most of the time. He could sense Grace continuing to give him disapproving looks across the table at his lack of interest but he couldn't bring himself to care. Eventually he excused himself, explaining that he wanted to get a good night's sleep before their journey the next day. His father accepted his excuse and allowed him to leave the table and make his way upstairs. Jack had gone to bed that night, praying he would see his dream girl again. As he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, eventually she appeared in front of him.

"_Jack, I've been waiting for you." She whispered, smiling as she walked towards him._

_Jack looked around. He was back at the side of the river where he had been that afternoon. She was standing in front of him wearing a long black dress. She held the train of her dress up in her hand revealing her intricate black shoes. She walked to him until she was standing right in front of him. She let go of her dress and placed her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him to her and gently kissing his cheek. Jack slightly turned his face so his lips touched hers. He loved the smell of her skin and the taste of her and felt as though he could kiss her forever. _

"_Jack, I have to go." She pulled away from him and smiled._

_Jack was surprised. He stared at her. "Where are you going?" he didn't want her to leave so soon._

"_You'll see me again." She kissed him gently on the cheek before turning away from him and walking away._

"_Wait!" Jack called after him. "I don't even know your name!"_

_She smiled again before disappearing from sight. _

Jack suddenly sat up in bed. "I don't know your name." He said weakly. Who was this woman? And how did she have so much effect on him?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next day, Jack was woken up by the sunshine drifting through his bedroom. It finally rested on his face and he screwed up his eyes before finally opening them. Jack sighed as he realised it was time for him to get up. He thought back to his dream and the beautiful girl that haunted him every night. He wondered if it was the same girl that he saw down by the river the day before, they looked so similar. But now he would never know. Now he was having to leave and he would never see her again.

Jack quickly got up and got washed and dressed. He couldn't be bothered with Grace coming round his door, hassling him to get ready. He knew she would be knocking on his door eventually trying to get him to hurry up. Jack got dressed into his suit, knowing full well that his father would be expecting him to dress appropriately. He tied his necktie and buttoned up his waistcoat before taking his jacket and making his way downstairs. Looking through the glass door, he could see that the servants were packing all the trunks onto the cars. Jack made his way into the dining room and sat down to have his breakfast. Grace appeared a few minutes later. She was dressed in a white boarding suit with purple pinstripes. She was carrying a parasol and an overly large purple hat. Jack stood to welcome her and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"You look beautiful darling." He said honestly.

Grace blushed and took her seat at the table. They ate breakfast in silence and finally made their way outside to greet Jack's father at the car.

"Finally, I've been wondering where you two had got to. Come on, we must be off." John insisted, encouraging them into the car. Trudy, Lovejoy and another two maid's climbed into the second car which followed them all the way to Southampton.

...

"It's about time." John Dawson complained when they finally arrived at the docks. Jack climbed from the car and held his hand out for Grace who gratefully took it as she struggled to climb out in the restrictive dress she was wearing.

"Come on, we better hurry." Jack said as he looked at his pocket watch. It was 11.30 and Titanic was due to set sail at noon. He stared up at the large ship in front of him as they walked towards it. Grace slipped her hand through his arm and let him lead her towards the long walkway that led them up into the first class section of the ship. John walked in front of them, leading the way. Suddenly a young boy ran straight into him.

"Watch where you're going!" John yelled, clearly annoyed by the inconvenience this boy had caused. He brushed himself down, disgusted that someone of the lower class had touched him.

"Eddie!" Jack turned as he heard someone shout from behind him. "Will you watch where you're going! I'm so sorry Sir."

The girl apologised to John who simply scoffed and turned away from them. Jack stared at her as she pulled the small boy away from them, allowing him and Grace to pass.

"People like that shouldn't be allowed near here." Grace laughed, tugging Jack's arm.

Jack wasn't listening to her though. He couldn't take his eyes off the girl in front of him. She turned to walk away from them until she caught Jack's eyes. She stared at him as she felt his eyes burning right into her. Jack wasn't sure if she recognised him but he knew her. He couldn't understand why she was here of all places. He thought he would never see her again but now seeing her up close, he knew that she was the girl he had been seeing in his dreams.

"_You'll see me again." _Her words drifted into his memory. She had told him that in his dream.

"Jack, will you come on? We're going to be late?" Grace pulled him away from the young woman, clearly irritated by how he was staring at her. He started to follow her, turning his head back every so often. The girl smiled at him as she watched him walk away towards the ship before taking the little boys hand and walking through the crowd. Jack kept looking back until he finally lost sight of her.

_This means something. _He thought to himself. _ I'm seeing her in my dreams, now she's here? I wonder if she is sailing? _

"Jack, what is the matter with you?" Grace demanded. She had seen how he had looked at that girl and although she and Jack were not married or engaged, she wasn't happy about it. He never looked at her like that.

"Nothing. Come on, let's go." Jack forced a smile, quickly catching up with his father.

They made their way onto the ship and followed the steward to their staterooms. Jack tried to take in his surroundings. He knew he should be excited and in awe of everything around him but he couldn't even force himself to enjoy it. Grace however, was more than excited. She was pointing people out that she recognised from the papers, telling Jack how it was important that they get to know these people at some point over the next few days. John disappeared into his own stateroom and the steward pointed out the next two rooms that were for Jack and Grace. Jack was grateful for the social etiquette of separate rooms before marriage. He didn't think he could cope with Grace constantly being around. At least this way he had a bit of space.

After unpacking his things, Jack decided to go for a walk. Titanic was heading for Cherbourg before finally setting sail across the Atlantic and he wanted to see England disappearing from view. He made his way up onto the boat deck and walked around until he came to railings which looked out across the lower decks. Jack pulled out his cigarettes and lit one, blowing the smoke out into the sea air. He looked down at all the people below him. They were laughing and joking, doing everything that he wished he could do. He suddenly had a feeling that someone was watching him so he turned his head and looked around to see what it was. He looked across the faces but they were all engrossed with something else until his eyes finally rested on a solitary figure sitting towards the bow. His breath was taken from him as he realised who she was. She was staring right back at him, clearly remembering him from their earlier encounter. He smiled at her, trying hard to hide his elation that she was there. He had no idea who she was, where she had come from but he was determined to find out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

That night, Jack accompanied his father and Grace to dinner. He was surrounded by people that he had no interest in and forced to listen to the same mindless chatter. He sat staring into space for what seemed like a lifetime.

"Jack!" Grace whispered, swiftly kicking his foot under the table. He finally snapped out of his day dream to be confronted by an angry looking Grace.

"What?" Jack stared at her, irritated that she had disturbed him.

"Mr Ismay is talking to you and all you can do is murmur nonsense. Please do pay attention." She willed him, smiling sweetly back at the table.

"I'm sorry, please excuse me." Jack rose from the table and started to walk away but not before his father swiftly grabbed his arm.

"What has gotten into you?" He demanded.

Jack shook his head. "Nothing father. I just need some air. I'm not feeling so good. Touch of the mal de mer I think."

John nodded and let go of his arm and returned to his dinner. Grace stared after him, wondering where on earth he could be going.

Jack felt a sudden feeling of relief as the cool air hit his face. He stepped across the boat deck and leaned against the railing, staring out in front of him. The moonlight reflected off the calm water and the bright stars dotted the sky like little diamonds. Jack pulled a flask from his inside pocket and took a quick drink, allowing the coolness to suddenly disappear from him. He turned on his heel and walked down towards the bow of the ship, not sure where he was going, but he felt as though he wanted to get as far as humanly possible away from his life. Jack stopped at the narrow gate which had a set of stairs after it leading down. He opened the gate, looking around him for any stewards that may have been doing their rounds. Seeing that the coast was clear, he walked down the steps, quietly closing the gate behind him. As he did, he noticed the sign that was pinned on the gate warning that no third class passengers were allowed past. Jack sighed. He hated all these barriers that society put up. He continued walking before he finally realised that he was almost near the front of the ship. Jack noticed some benches lining the side of the ship and he sat down, unbuttoning his shift collar and loosening his tie. He lit a cigarette and looked out ahead of him, trying to work out how he had got here. How had his life ended up like this. He tried to work it all out when his thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps. Jack looked up and his breath caught in his throat as he noticed the red headed beauty standing before him. He stood up as he had always done in the presence of a lady, although his father would dispute calling a third class girl, a lady.

"I keep seeing you." She finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence between them.

Jack stared at her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. "I know." He said breathlessly.

They stood looking at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Sorry, I didn't know if I should come up to you. I know that some families are strict on keeping classes separate. I just didn't think you seemed like all the rest of them." She admitted.

"You're right. I'm not. I don't follow that nonsense." Jack laughed nervously.

She smiled before looking down to the ground.

"Do you want to sit down?" Jack offered, holding his hand out to emphasise the bench beside them. The girl looked down at the bench and then back up at Jack. She nodded slowly and walked towards Jack, sitting down next to him. Jack noticed she seemed so nervous, as if she didn't know how to act around him. But Jack couldn't help notice her poise. Although she dressed as though she belonged in steerage, her mannerisms and posture said otherwise. "Why were you in Harpenden? And why are you here?"

She looked up at him. His piercing blue eyes burned right into her. She felt as though she was looking directly into the ocean. "I've been working as a nanny for a family that live there. I've been there for over a year but when I heard that Titanic was sailing from Southampton, I knew this was my chance to get home. I was born in Philadelphia and that's where I'm heading now. What about you?"

Jack smiled. "I've been there for a few weeks on business. I'm just going home to Wisconsin. What is your name?"

She looked down as though she was thinking for a second. Jack was confused. Surely she didn't need to think about what her name was. She looked back up at him as if she was trying to work out if she should tell him something.

"Can I trust you?" she finally asked.

Jack looked at her. This woman was in his mind constantly. He wanted to get to know her better. "Yes, you can trust me."

She looked down again as though trying to decide if she should tell this complete stranger the biggest secret of her life.

"My name is Rose DeWitt Bukater." She finally admitted.

Jack looked directly into her eyes. He replayed the name over and over in his head trying to remember where he had heard that before, then it came to him.

"As in, Rose DeWitt Bukater that was due to marry Caledon Hockley last year?" Jack stared at her.

She nodded. She looked back up at him, almost as if wondering if he believed her. She knew that some people would just ignore her or write her off as a fantasist for mimicking a lady. But Jack had a softness in his face. She could tell he was studying her, trying to remember her from pictures in the paper when their engagement was announced.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "It is you." He tried to picture her with her hair pinned up and in fancier clothes but there was no mistaking it. Her pale skin and fiery red hair was unmistakable. "Why are you dressed like that though? And where's your family?"

"Haven't you read about it all in the papers?" she asked. Jack shook his head. "I ran out on the wedding. The day I was due to marry Cal, I was standing in my room, getting into my wedding dress. Cal had a hand in choosing it and it was the most restrictive, over the top dress I had ever worn in my life. I felt as though I couldn't breathe. Each second I stood there, I could feel the life being slowly sucked out of me, like I was dying. I knew I had to get out of there. But then my mother, she came in, started fussing around me and telling me to hurry up because the carriage was waiting for us. 500 invitations had gone out and all of Philadelphia's society was to be there. I couldn't stand the thought of them all being there, staring at me, judging me. I told my mother that I couldn't do it, I couldn't marry him. Don't get me wrong, he was a good man. He would have looked after me but this wasn't a marriage of love. It was a marriage of convenience for everyone apart from me. Cal would get his trophy wife who would provide him with an heir to carry on the Hockley family name and my mother would be set up for life. You see, our family was in ruins after my father died. He left us with thousands of dollars of debt which was hidden by our name. Eventually though, the money we had left would have ran out. We needed something or someone to help us. When we met Cal, my mother saw it as her way out, she saw that Cal had an obvious attraction to me and she was keen for us to be together. I couldn't do it though. I couldn't marry someone I didn't love." Rose wiped a tear from her cheek. Jack had sat listening intently to her and he reached inside his jacket pocket and took out his handkerchief, passing it to her. She thanked him and rubbed it against her cheeks. "Needless to say, my mother didn't take it so well." Rose continued. "She told me that if I walked out on this wedding, then I would give up my rights to everything. Our money, our house, my family. They disowned me after that. So I got on the first boat out of America and went to England for a fresh start. I slept rough for a few days until a woman found me next to the bakery. She took pity on me and bought me a loaf of bread. She talked to me for a while and I told her my story. She hired me to be a nanny to her children. I told her a few weeks ago that I was planning to come back to America and she was kind enough to purchase my ticket on the Titanic to allow me to come home. They were very good to me. I'm travelling with a friend of mine. She is a nanny as well. That was their son you seen me with this morning at the docks, you know? The little boy who ran into that man you were with?"

Jack nodded. "That was my father."

"Oh." Rose smiled. "Please pass on my apologies again for Eddie. He really doesn't know when to calm down. Who was the woman you were with? Was that your wife?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I'm not married. My father wants me to marry her though."

"But you don't want to?" Rose asked. She cursed herself quietly for being so forward.

"No. I don't. Rose, we are such similar creatures." Jack smiled. "Both forced into marriages that we don't want.

Rose laughed at the irony. She looked Jack over again. He was so beautiful. His blonde hair fell in front of his eyes. She had to resist the urge to reach forward and push it behind his ears. "You haven't told me your name." She finally said.

Jack realised his error. "You're right. That is extremely rude of me, I apologise. My name is Jack Dawson." He held out his hand to her.

Rose looked at it before cautiously placing her hand in his, expecting him to shake it. Instead, he flipped her hand round and leaned forward to kiss her knuckles. She was startled. It had been a long time since someone had done that. He smiled up at her. Rose blushed. His eyes were so warm and gentle that she instantly felt relaxed around him. They sat staring at each other until the noise of someone coughing tore them away from each other.

"Well well. Don't we look cosy." The voice said.

Jack turned to see Grace and Lovejoy standing behind them. He quickly stood up. "Grace, what are you still doing up?" Jack knew it must be quite late.

"Well when you weren't in your room, I came looking for you, I was worried. But now I see you were _here_" she empathised the word with disgust as she looked Rose over.

"Yes, I was talking to..." Jack looked down at Rose before saying her name. Rose shook her head, willing him not to disclose her identity. "Anna."

"Well, I'm sure _Anna_ won't mind letting you come back with me." Grace held her hand out.

"I'll be there soon. Just go back to the stateroom Grace, I won't be long." Jack sat back down on the bench. He knew she would be angry, but he didn't care. He wanted to stay and talk more with Rose. Grace sighed and turned quickly on her heel stomping off. Jack looked up at Lovejoy who smirked before quickly following after her.

"I'm sorry about her." Jack apologised. "Why didn't you want me to say who you were?"

"I don't want my family to know where I am. As I said, my mother disowned me but I know that life hasn't been easy for her since I ran out of the wedding. Obviously Cal threw her out of his house and the last I heard, she was working as a seamstress. If she could find me, she would force me back to my old life and find someone else for me to marry. I just don't want her to know that I'm on my way back." Rose looked out to sea. Jack could understand her reasons.

"Well your secret is safe with me." He reached forward and took her hand. She turned to him and smiled. "I probably should be getting back before Grace has a meltdown."

Rose laughed. "Good luck to you Mr Dawson."

"Jack." He quickly answered. "I do hope to see you again Rose."

She looked at him in amazement. "You do?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, I do."

Rose stood up in front of him. "Then I'm sure we will see each other again."

Jack leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek. He knew that it was extremely inappropriate but he didn't care. He felt as though he could be himself with Rose. She wasn't interested in what was proper and she stood for everything that Jack wished he could be. She was free, she had managed to break away from the restraints of upper class and Jack admired her so much for it.

"Can I escort you back to your room?" he offered. Rose shook her head.

"I'll be fine. I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer." Rose smiled.

Jack nodded. "Well I'll be off. Good night Rose." He said before walking away.

"Goodnight Jack." She whispered before sitting back down on the bench.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next day, Jack was sat in the dining saloon having lunch with Grace. She had barely spoken to him all morning. Jack figured she was still annoyed about finding him out on deck with Rose but he couldn't even bring himself to care if she was upset. Although he knew that wasn't right, he knew that he didn't want to be with Grace and he planned on telling her this as soon as they docked in New York. Jack wasn't sure if he even wanted to go back to Wisconsin and he sat for most of the morning trying to decide what he would do once they arrived in America.

"Are you just going to sit there in silence Jack? What is the matter with you these days?" Grace finally asked, taking a drink of her tea.

"What are you talking about?" Jack snapped. He hadn't meant to but he was getting more frustrated with her.

Grace looked down. She couldn't understand what was wrong with Jack but he was clearly irritated about something. She kept quiet though, she was a lady and wasn't about to talk back to him when he was like this.

"Look I'm sorry alright. I've just got a lot of things on my mind." Jack admitted.

"Like what?" Grace wondered.

"Just work stuff." Jack lied. "Let me escort you back to the room. I'm going to get some air on the boat deck." He had had enough now and just wanted to be alone.

Grace nodded and stood from the table. She slipped her hand through Jack's arm and let him guide her back to the room. After Jack had left her, he started to walk along the long corridor to the grand staircase.

"Jack!" he turned as he heard someone shouting his name. He sighed as he saw his father walking towards him. "I wish to speak with you for a moment." He motioned for Jack to follow him to his stateroom. Not wanting to argue, Jack followed. He closed the door behind him and followed his father into the sitting room. John walked into the large closet and opened up the hideous safe that was sat inside a cupboard and pulled out a small box. He walked back over to Jack and handed it to him.

"I think it's about time you grew up now Son. I want you to give this to Grace." John said.

Jack opened up the box. He didn't really need to. He knew exactly what this was. Opening it up, he cringed as he saw his mother's engagement ring inside. Jack quickly closed it again and put his head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" John asked. "It's the right thing to do."

"No." Jack said, standing. He handed the box back to his father. "I'm not going to do this. I don't love Grace."

"You will grow to love her. It's about time you settled down and started a family." John insisted.

"Father, I'm only twenty years old. I have plenty of time for that." Jack sighed.

"Jack, I was your age when your mother was pregnant with you." John confirmed. He sat down on the couch and stared at Jack. "What's wrong with Grace?"

"Nothing's wrong with her." Jack shook his head. "She's just not for me. Plus I think I like someone else." The words were out before Jack could even stop them.

John's eyes lit up. "Really? Who?"

"I'm not saying anything at the moment because it's fairly new. Let me see how it goes." Jack insisted.

John looked at him suspiciously. "Do I know her family?"

"Probably." Jack answered honestly. "But I'm not saying anything yet. But I don't want to marry Grace."

John nodded. "Okay, well we will tell her she needs to go back to her family when we arrive in New York."

Jack smiled. He thought this would have been harder for him to deal with. Mind you, his father didn't know yet who he had feelings for. Jack was sure he was well aware of the issues with the Hockleys and Rose and he knew he wouldn't approve. At least not while she was the way she was. But Jack wasn't sure he wanted to bring her back into her old life. He knew that she hated it, although he wondered if she hated it because she didn't care for the money or because she had felt forced into everything. Perhaps if she was with someone she truly loved then she would be happy. Jack shook his head. The money didn't make him happy and he didn't think that even if he was with Rose, it wouldn't make him love the money or the lifestyle and he highly doubted that she would feel that way. Jack sighed. He had dreamt about Rose again last night and it had made him extremely happy that at least this time, he knew who she was. He was able to call her "Rose." The name rolled off his tongue perfectly as if he was meant to say it again for the rest of his life. Jack smiled at the thought and stood up from the chair he was sitting in.

"I'm going to go for a walk." Jack said. His father walked back to the closet and placed the box inside before locking the safe.

"See you this evening Son." His father said, watching him disappearing out the door.

...

Jack walked back towards the front of the ship along the promenade. He wanted to see Rose but he had no idea where she would be. He walked back to the stairs which he walked down the previous night. Wandering around, he finally found a set of stairs which took him further down into the bowels of the ship. He was surrounded by people walking up and down the stairs, they were all dressed in plain clothes so Jack knew he was heading in the right direction. He walked down into what seemed to look like a general room with benches lining the length of the room. Men were smoking and laughing together. Women were sewing and children were playing games and running around. Seeing Jack in his black suit, they stopped what they were doing and stared at him, watching him walk amongst them, wondering why he was there. Jack looked around, he brushed a strand of his hair out of his face, and walked further into the room. His eyes scanned the faces trying to find the one he was looking for.

"Eddie!" a woman walked towards him, shouting after someone. Jack remembered that name as the little boy who Rose was looking after at Southampton docks. His eyes followed the woman who had shouted until he finally seen him sitting on the floor.

"Rosie dear." The woman shouted into the next room. "Can you come here?"

Jack's ears pricked up as he heard the name. He watched as a figure emerged from the shadows. The redness of her hair was the first thing he noticed. He smiled as he saw her appear in front of him. Rose laughed as she picked Eddie up from the floor. She looked around as she realised that her laugh had echoed through the room, making her realise the silence, which was strange for that room. She looked over the faces in front of her, realising that they were all staring at something. She turned round and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Jack standing in front of her.

"Hello Rose." Jack finally spoke. The crowds sitting around them turned their heads and stared at Rose wondering why this gentleman was talking to her.

"Hello Mr Dawson." She stared at him before turning to the young boy in her arms. "Eddie, say hello to Mr Dawson."

The child smiled and obeyed. Jack smiled at him. "Hello Eddie, it's very nice to meet you." He held out his hand to him. Eddie, unsure of what to do, looked at Rose who nodded. Eddie held his hand out in front of him and Jack gently took it, shaking it.

"May I speak with you Rose?" Jack asked. Rose nodded and placed Eddie down onto the floor. She looked at the woman who had shouted on her, Eddie's mother, who gave her a wink and motioned for her to follow him. Rose smiled as Jack let her pass in front of him. She walked back towards the stairs and climbed them, listening for the second that they were out of sight that the general room would erupt in voices again. She laughed as it happened, as if on cue.

They made their way up to the deck and Rose stopped when she reached the railings. "What can I do for you Mr Dawson?"

Jack smiled. "I've told you. Please call me Jack. I just wanted to see you, spend a little time with you. Is that alright?"

Rose nodded. She sat down on a nearby chair and Jack sat alongside her. They stayed there for hours, talking and laughing. They spoke about their lives and Jack told her that he had told his father he didn't want to marry Grace. Rose was amazed that he had been able to be so honest about that.

"I told him I had feelings for someone else." Jack admitted.

"Oh." Rose looked down. "Well I'm glad that you have found someone you do care about."

"I have." He reached over and took her hand. She looked at him with surprise. "It's you."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – Seeing as you asked nicely jackdawson-love chapter 6 now posted. Hope you enjoy and thanks everyone for the reviews so far!**

**Chapter 6**

Rose had excused herself quickly after Jack's admission. She didn't know how to react or how to take his news. Part of her thought he was playing a cruel joke. A bet between himself and his rich friends designed to embarrass her. She wouldn't be surprised if his lady friend had put him up to it as revenge. She had apologised to Jack and run off before he had any chance to say anything. Once she had disappeared down the stairs, he sat for a few more minutes trying to make sense of it all.

"Mr Dawson." Jack looked up to see Lovejoy standing in front of him. "Your father has asked me to fetch you for dinner."

Jack nodded. He stood up, glanced quickly back towards the direction Rose had run off before following Lovejoy back to his cabin. He got washed and dressed before calling on Grace to escort her to the dining saloon.

They walked down the staircase and followed Jack's father into the large room. They stopped constantly on the way to their table to speak to almost everyone they passed. John introduced Jack, explaining that he would be taking over the business and he was careful how he introduced Grace. Jack gave him an appreciative smile for that part but he could sense Grace was unnerved about it.

Finally they got to their table and sat down. Jack was seated beside Margaret Brown. A loud woman who irritated his father but Jack enjoyed her company. She was different from all those he had met already plus she was extremely funny. John called her "new money" explaining that she hadn't come from a rich family. Jack shrugged it off, he really didn't care how she had come into her fortune.

After dinner, they all sat talking amongst themselves. Mrs Brown was telling a story about her husband which Jack found extremely funny. He could tell his father was glaring at him from across the table but he continued to laugh.

"...So Mr Brown had no idea I'd hidden the money in the stove. So he comes home drunk as a pig celebrating and he lights the fire!" she continued, clapping her hands in enthusiasm. Jack had to cover his mouth with his napkin to stop his food from being on show. Eventually, they all moved on to different subjects. Mrs Brown turned to Jack.

"So, son...what's the deal with this girl I keep seeing you with?" she asked him outright.

Jack turned to look behind him. Grace was talking to his father. "You mean Grace? She's a friend of the family."

"No no no son. I mean that beautiful red head. I've only seen her from afar but if I didn't know any better, I'd say that was Ruth DeWitt Bukater's daughter." She raised her eyebrows.

Jack's mouth opened slightly. He had no idea that anyone from his crowd had seen them. He didn't want to blow Rose's secret. "I don't know what you mean." He lied.

"Now come on sonny. You know I'm not like all of these twits in this room. I remember that girl. Strong girl, smart mouth." Margaret laughed.

"Mrs Brown, honestly, I..." Jack looked down.

"Jack, please call me Molly. I hate all these formalities. But that was her wasn't it?" Molly placed her hand on his arm. He nodded slowly, his eyes closed.

"She doesn't want anyone to know that she's here." Jack admitted.

"I'm not surprised. She had quite a hard time with that family of hers. I always knew that Hockley was no good for her. But she's had a quite a fall from grace judging by the clothes she had on." Molly shook her head. She had always been fond of Rose and missed her when she had gone away from her family.

"Yeah, she didn't want that life anymore." Jack shrugged.

"I would love if I could see her again though Jack. Could you take me to see her?" Molly asked.

"I could try." Jack nodded. "Come on, let's go out for a cigarette and we'll try and find her."

Molly smiled. They both got up from the table. John looked at them. "Where are you going son?"

Jack pushed Molly's chair in for her. "Mrs Brown and I are going outside for a cigarette."

John looked confused. "But Jack, you can smoke here." Jack knew he would have made a fuss.

"I'm going to introduce Jack to one of my friends that is outside. I think he would benefit from meeting him." Molly interrupted. John nodded with approval. Jack smiled in appreciation and escorted Molly from the dining room. She followed Jack down to the lower decks and they made their way to the general room that Jack had been in before. He wasn't sure how Rose would take seeing him after the way she ran off from him earlier. Jack realised he was getting closer when he could hear laughing and shouting, plus music being played.

"Sounds like they're having a better time than us." Molly laughed.

"I think they always do." Jack shrugged. "Down here."

Molly followed him down the stairs and yet again they were met with stares. "Friendly bunch aren't they?" Molly joked, nudging Jack in the arm.

He laughed. They got down to the bottom and saw several people dancing on a stage in the middle of the room. Men were sitting at tables drinking beer, playing cards and arm wrestling. Jack smiled as he watched them all. He loosened his shirt and removed his tie, trying to look as casual as possible but he knew that would be difficult given that he was there with Molly. His eyes scanned the room until they finally rested on Rose. She was standing in the middle of the make shift stage, dancing to the music. Jack couldn't take his eyes off her and Molly followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. She smiled as she finally saw Rose in front of her. Before Jack could say anything, Molly walked away from him, through the crowds and towards the stage.

"Molly!" Jack whispered, but it was too late. She was too far away from him to hear. She finally stopped at a pillar and continued to watch Rose dancing. Eventually the song stopped and Rose took a deep breath, laughing with her friends she was with. She started to make her way back to her table when she finally saw Molly standing in front of her. She stopped and stared at her, trying to work out if it was a mirage or if she was real.

"Mrs Brown?" she finally spoke. Rose remembered she always called her Molly but wasn't sure if she would appreciate being called Molly given Rose's new circumstances.

"Oh child, don't start with all that Mrs Brown business. I've already spent most of the night warning your friend not to call me that." She laughed, pointing to Jack standing behind her. Rose looked up and her eyes fell on Jack. He was so handsome in his suit. "Now come here already!"

Rose laughed and fell into Molly's arms. She had always liked Mrs Brown and out of all the people from her old life that she could have seen, Molly was the only one she would have happily had in front of her. She finally pulled away from her and Molly kissed her on the cheek. "You look as beautiful as ever Miss Rose. I don't think I've ever seen you smile as much as you have in the last five minutes. Now come on, you, Jack and I are going to sit and have a drink."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – I'm hoping I'll also get chapter 8 posted today as well. And jackdawson-love, to answer your question, i'm not going to tell you if either of them die haha. To be honest, not because I don't want to but because I haven't decided lol. **

**Chapter 7**

The rest of the night, Rose and Molly caught up on old times. Jack sat quietly sipping his beer watching them talk. He was pleased that they had been able to get together again and it was nice to see Rose enjoying herself. Although he hadn't known her for too long, every time he saw her here or in his dreams, she never seemed happy. But now, something had changed. Jack realised that not everything in Rose's old life was bad. She did have some friends but clearly not enough. He wanted to change that, he wanted to take care of her.

"You've barely said a word all night Jack." Molly laughed.

"It's hard to get a word in edgeways with you two." Jack smiled, taking another drink.

Molly smiled. "Well I should be heading back now, I'm sure it's getting late."

Jack looked at his watch. "It's past midnight. Rose, let me escort you back to your cabin."

Rose looked at Molly. "Shouldn't you take Molly back?"

Molly shook her head. "Don't you worry about me dear. Jack, you take Rose back to her cabin and I'll see you tomorrow." Jack leaned forward and kissed her hand and they both watched Molly disappear back up the stairs.

"Can I walk you to your room?" Jack held out his hand for her. Rose smiled and took his hand, standing from her chair. She led the way for them towards her cabin, walking down the long corridor. They walked down a set of stairs before they finally stopped outside a brown door.

"This is me." Rose turned to face him. "Listen I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have run away from you when you said those wonderful things. I just thought you were joking."

"I was being serious Rose. I've had dreams about you for months. I don't know how and I can't explain it. Then I see you at the river and now you're here. Heading in the same direction as me. I've got to take that as a sign." Jack explained. She stared up at him, unsure of what to say. "Well, I had a really good night tonight Rose." Jack smiled; he took her other hand and rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs.

Rose smiled. She looked up at him, trying to read his face. Jack leaned forward and lifted his hand, brushing a curl behind her ear. As he did so he ran his finger down her cheek, suddenly reminding him of his dream that he had before he saw her standing next to the river. She closed her eyes and turned her face into his hand, enjoying his soft touch. Jack stepped closer to her so they were only inches apart and leaned forward, gently pressing his lips against hers. Taken aback, Rose stepped away from him, her hand flew up to her mouth.

"I'm sorry." Jack quickly said. He wasn't sure what she was going to do.

Rose looked him over and before she knew it, she stepped back towards him and kissed him again. Jack wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly to him. She lost herself completely in his kiss, not wanting it to end. Jack ran his fingers through her hair, feeling the softness of it. Finally they let each other go, almost panting with desire. Rose stared at him.

"What does this mean Jack?" Rose asked. She wasn't sure where this was going.

"I want to keep seeing you Rose. There's something about you, I can't put my finger on it. The fact I had seen you before I actually physically seen you, if you know what I mean?"

Rose nodded. She believed him but she couldn't see how they would have a future together. Jack was where she used to be and she couldn't see his family being happy about this. Was she just going to be someone that he picked up and dropped whenever he felt like it? As much as she liked him and was attracted to him, she wasn't willing to do that.

"I need to keep seeing you. If it means me leaving my family then I will." Jack clung onto her hands.

"Jack." Rose started. "Please think about this. You'd be throwing your life away. You'd end up like I am now."

"I don't care." Jack almost shouted. "I want to be with you."

Rose let go of his hands and back towards the door. "I want you to think about this Jack. If you still feel this way by the time we dock then I will go with you. But please consider what you're doing." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek before opening the cabin door and going inside, closing it behind her.

Jack stared at it for a few seconds before leaning his back against it. He stared up at the ceiling before taking a deep breath and walking away. He knew what he had to do.

On the other side of the door, Rose was doing the same thing. She had pressed herself up against it and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She brought her knees up and leaned her head against them, tears sliding down her face. She was happy and sad all at the same time. Happy because this amazing beautiful man had asked her to go away with him but sad because she couldn't believe she didn't have the good fortune to meet him before she had left her old life. Her mother would have accepted Jack and his family would have accepted her. But she had made a decision now and she had too much pride to go back to her mother. The only way they could be together was if Jack left his family and she couldn't ask him to do that. It was too much for him to do and she couldn't live with herself if they ended up homeless and unable to eat because of something she had made him do. Rose wiped her cheeks as more tears fell. She had to make a decision.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Shortly after Rose heard Jack disappearing from behind her door, she grabbed her shawl and slowly opened the door. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and she was wary about bumping into anyone so she peeked her head out of the door and looked up and down the long corridor. Sure there was no one around, Rose wrapped the shawl round her shoulders and headed up to the outside world.

She shivered as the cold sea air hit her face. Rose leaned against the railing and stared out to sea, her mind was racing trying to decide what she should do. Since leaving Cal the year before, she hadn't even looked at another man, she couldn't face it. She had just wanted to be by herself for a while, trying to decide what she wanted from her life. It was the first time she never had anyone to answer to and no one telling her what to do and she wanted to enjoy it. Rose thought that if she fell into the arms of the first man that came her way, she would be right back to that same broken girl she once was. But something told her Jack was different. He didn't seem to be the type that would control her or insist she followed his every order. He seemed like the type to let her make her own decisions and follow her dreams. She could kick herself for having never met him before. She wracked her brain trying to think why she had never met him at one of the many galas and cotillions that her mother had dragged her along to. If he was the son of a wealthy businessman then no doubt Cal had worked alongside him or done deals with him. It was so unbelievably unfair. Rose shook her head as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a rolled up cigarette that she had managed to get off one of her friends earlier. She quickly lit it and took a long drag, smiling as she thought of what her mother would say if she saw her now.

"_You know I don't like that Rose." _She laughed. That's exactly what she would say.

Rose finished the cigarette and tossed it into the sea. She wiped her cheeks again, trying to get rid of the dried up tears that still stained her face. Closing her eyes, she imagined Jack's face, so angelic and handsome and she smiled at the thought of him. She thought back to the kiss they had shared not that long before and she lifted her fingers to her lips. Rose swore she could still taste him and feel the softness of his mouth. He tasted like a mix of peppermint and tobacco but Rose couldn't think of anything else that could have tasted better. She thought about what her life could be like with him, waking up with him, going to sleep with him. She thought about them living in a little house outside the city. He would go out to work and she would stay and look after their three children. Rose smiled at the thought. She knew now that you really didn't need all that money to be happy. She had been to both extremes in the past 12months. All her life, she had never wanted for anything. She had maids to do everything for her, she could buy anything she wanted, she could go to exotic lands and see new things but deep down she wasn't genuinely happy. But now, she had barely any money and had been working as a nanny back in England but she dreamed for being an actress. Mrs Beckwith had been good to her since taking her in and then buying her ticket to sail back to America. She had given her advice on where to go to try and get work in plays or shows and Rose had intended on looking into it when she arrived. She knew Jack would support her if they were together. Rose quickly lit another cigarette and smoked it quickly before throwing it overboard. She watched it fall into the water before turning to head back to her room to get some sleep.

...

Meanwhile, Jack was tossing and turning in his bed. He couldn't get Rose's face out of his head and every few minutes he kept waking up. Staring up at the ceiling, he thought back to their encounter earlier on in the night. Jack didn't regret kissing her because he knew that deep down he had fallen for her and he knew that he was willing to give up his whole life for her. Jack closed his eyes again and tried to get to sleep, pulling the pillow over his face.

"_Finally Jack. I thought you would never come." She stood in front of him dressed in white, looking like an angel._

"_I'm sorry, it look me longer than I thought it would to get here." Jack smiled, walking towards her, taking her hands in his. "I want to be with you Rose."_

_She smiled, accepting his admission. "You will need to convince me Jack. You know it's not as easy as you think."_

_He nodded. Jack realised that Rose was wary about him giving up his life for her but he knew this was what he wanted and if he had to spend the next few days persuading her of that then he would. As if reading his mind, Rose squeezed his hand. "I want nothing more than that too. I just need you to be sure that this is what you want."_

_Jack smiled. He knew this was Rose giving him a sign that she could be won over._

Suddenly Jack's eyes flew open. Sunlight was now pouring through the window indicating that he had finally managed to get to sleep. Jack quickly jumped out of bed. He was determined to find Rose and make her realise that he needed to be with her, no matter what it took.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Jack sat fidgeting through breakfast and Grace had noticed. She kept staring at him out the corner of her eye trying to read his face and work out what was wrong with him. Although she kept denying it to herself, she was sure it had something to do with that girl she found him with. She tried to think of her name...Anna? who was she? There was something familiar about her but Grace couldn't put her finger on it. She certainly wasn't a lady like she was and Jack had no business being seen out with her. Did he not realise what this would do to his reputation, being seen out with a commoner? Grace shook her head and ate another piece of her breakfast.

"So, what are your plans for today then?" John's voice broke into her thoughts. She looked at Jack, waiting on him to answer but he seemed completely preoccupied. "Jack?" his father asked again.

Jack suddenly looked up at his father. "I'm sorry?"

"I asked what your plans were for today Jack? What is the matter with you? You've been acting strangely ever since we got on this boat." John stared at him.

"Indeed." Grace mumbled. John shot her a look which instantly warned her to keep quiet. Grace's eyes fell to the table, breaking eye contact with them both.

"Actually Father, I would like to speak to you after breakfast if you don't mind?" Jack pleaded.

His father nodded. He had a feeling what Jack wanted to speak with him about but didn't care to discuss it over breakfast. "We'll go out on the boat deck for a walk when we finish."

Jack shook his head. "I'd prefer to discuss this in private if it's all the same."

Grace's eyes lifted from the table. Curiousness got the better of her and she wanted to know what they were going to be discussing. John looked his son over before returning back to his breakfast.

...

After they finished, Jack left Grace with a few of the ladies that had been dining with them over the last few nights before making his way back to his stateroom to speak to his father. His heart was pounding but he knew he had to tell his father the truth. Perhaps if he knew who she really was he would give him his blessing. His father had always been fairly reasonable, not like some of Jack's friend's parents. He was grateful for that much and hoped that his father would be reasonable now. He finally reached his stateroom door, took a deep breath and went inside. His father was sitting out on their private promenade, smoking a cigarette. Jack made his way through and sat down in the chair beside him, taking the cigarette his father offered him and lighting it.

"So what is this all about Jack?" he asked, turning in his seat.

Jack tapped his foot on the floor. "I need to ask you for something. You're blessing if you like." Jack whispered.

"My blessing for what?" John was intrigued now.

"I've met someone. I told you that before, and that I can't marry Grace." Jack started. His father nodded, understanding. "it's just that, right now, she isn't exactly what you would call, one of us." Jack was ashamed even speaking about his beautiful Rose like this.

"What do you mean Jack?" John narrowed his eyes.

"She's currently sailing on the ship. But she's not up here, with us." Jack looked down.

"You mean, she isn't first class?" there was a tenseness in John's voice.

Jack nodded. "She's in third."

John stood up as soon as he said this. Jack put his head in his hands. He was worried that his father would react this way but part of him had hoped that he would understand.

"She hasn't always been that way though." Jack stood up and walked behind him.

John turned to look at him. "I don't understand."

Jack sighed. He knew he was going to need to tell his father everything if he was to realise his son's feelings for Rose. "She used to be one of us. She used to belong to a very rich family."

John sat back down on the chair and motioned for Jack to do the same. Jack followed and lit another cigarette as he began telling his father the whole story.

...

"That poor girl." John said as Jack finished telling him everything. "I remember hearing about all that. Hell, we even met them a few times. I don't think you were there though Jack. Caledon used to drag that poor girl to every business event known to man and every time we saw them, she looked more and more miserable. I'm not surprised the poor girl ran out on her family."

Jack looked up at him. He hoped now that this would mean that he would get his father's blessing given that he now knew her background.

"Unfortunately though Jack, she has made her decision and she's now no longer part of your world. It wouldn't do you, me or the family any good if you were seen with her. In fact, you probably shouldn't spend any more time with her on this boat. Then when we dock, you don't need to see her again." John sighed, regretting every word that came out his mouth. He wasn't keen on how high society worked either but unfortunately, it came with the territory of being wealthy. John knew that he came across as harsh and cruel but he had to be, if he was to gain respect from his peers.

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had hoped his father was going to understand. He stood up and began to walk towards the door.

"Jack." He said before he walked out the door. "please understand why I'm telling you this. I'm only trying to protect you."

"I love her." Jack looked down. He didn't need to look at his father to know what his facial reactions would be.

"You what?" he was completely taken aback. He had expected that his son was infatuated with this girl, as had many a man been, but love? He hadn't counted on that.

"I love her. I can't help it. I have to be with her and if it means leaving you and all of this behind, then I'll do it." Jack turned to face him.

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't lose his son. He had already lost his wife and now he was going to lose his only son? All for the sake of a girl? John thought back to how he felt when he was Jack's age. He was madly in love with his wife. He had married her in the spring of 1891 and she fell pregnant with Jack only a month later. They welcomed their son into the world on January 2nd 1892, the perfect new year's present. When he lost her in 1909, his world fell apart but he tried to keep going for Jack's sake. Although he would never admit it, many nights since, he had cried himself to sleep, wishing that she could be there with him but John knew that no amount of crying would bring her back.

"I know exactly how you feel." John admitted, pressing his hand up against the wall.

Jack stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother wasn't from a wealthy family." John admitted, closing his eyes.

Jack sat back down. He lit another cigarette, trying to take in what his father was telling him.

John sat down beside him. "I loved her, so I made her my wife. I had to put up with years of dirty looks and complaints from my family but I didn't care. She was the best thing that ever happened to me and I felt as though she was worth the stress that came along with it. She settled into our way of living very well but people always looked down their nose at her as if she was beneath them."

Jack sighed. He hadn't known about any of this and couldn't believe his father would have risked his reputation like that.

"I just don't want you to have to go through the same problems I had to deal with." John put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"She's worth it Father. Please, just at least meet her. If you spend ten minutes with her and you don't think she's perfect for me then I won't see her again, but I swear, you will see what I see." Jack willed him to agree.

John nodded. "Go get your girl then son."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Grace had heard enough. She had followed Jack shortly after he had left her sitting in the first class dining saloon and had snuck into the sitting room of his father's stateroom trying to listen into their conversation. When she heard Jack making his way back in, she quickly made herself scarce. Now sitting in her own room, she wracked her brain trying to work out who Jack had fallen for. She had never heard him mention someone called Rose but she certainly didn't like the way he spoke about her. She looked up as she heard the next door closing indicating that Jack had left. Grace quickly got to her feet and ran out the room, ensuring that she could keep an eye on Jack but also keep a safe enough distance so she wouldn't be spotted. She followed him out onto the deck and down to the other end of the ship. Jack was moving at an extremely quick place as if he couldn't wait to get somewhere. This killed her that he was clearly so infatuated with whoever this girl was. However, confusion set on her when Jack started to walk down the stairs to the lower classes. She couldn't understand why he was heading this way and who he could possibly want to see down here. Grace stopped following him, thinking he couldn't be going to find this Rose if he was heading this way. She sat down on a deck chair and pulled her hat down so it was covering her face. She decided she couldn't bring herself to follow him down there and would just wait for him to return, then they could put this silly nonsense behind them and go to dinner.

...

"Rose! Rose!" Jack ran down the stairs into the third class general room. He barged past people as he went, almost knocking them over. He jumped the last three stairs, landing smoothly on his feet. Jack's eyes scanned the room trying to locate Rose. Unable to see her, he sighed with frustration until he spotted Eddie sitting on the floor across from him.

"Eddie!" he shouted, startling the little boy. "Do you remember me? Mr Dawson?"

Eddie nodded slowly, looking up at him as he knelt down in front of him.

"I need to find Rose. Do you know where she is?" Jack pleaded.

A huge smile crept across Eddie's face as he nodded again.

"Can you take me to her?" Jack smiled.

Eddie's smile faded and he shook his head.

Jack's face fell. "Why not?"

"Because she's behind you." Eddie pointed his finger past Jack's cheek.

Jack's eyes widened as he quickly turned around. He smiled as they rested on Rose standing behind him. Her hair was wild and falling around her shoulders and her eyes seemed more green than usual.

"Rose." He said quietly as he stood to his feet, not caring about the dust that was now settled on his knees.

"Jack, what's going on?" Rose looked around her, suddenly aware that they had become the centre of attention for everyone in the room.

"I need you to come with me." Jack took a step towards her.

"Go where? What are you talking about?" Rose looked bewildered.

"Come with me to meet my father. Please? I told him everything." Jack took her hand in his, squeezing it tight.

To his amazement, she pulled her hand from his, giving him a look of anger. "You did what? After you told me I could trust you? You went away and told him who I was and what I'd done? How could you?" Rose raged, stepping back away from him. "I didn't want anyone from my old life to know I was here. Now your father will tell his friends and my mother will eventually find out. You had no right!"

Jack stared at her. This certainly wasn't the reaction he was looking for. "Rose, I told him because he deserves to know the truth."

"Why? Why does he need to know anything about me?" Rose turned away from him.

"Because he needs to know the truth about the girl I love." Jack confessed, taking a deep breath, still very aware of the fact they were on show to almost all of the lower deck's occupants.

Rose stood still. Her brain was trying to make sense of what Jack had just said. "You what?" she turned to face him.

He stepped back towards her, taking her hands again. "The girl that I love. I love you Rose. I want nothing more than to have you in my life and make you happy. I know you weren't before, but come home with me. I swear you make me happier than I ever thought I could be and if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way."

Rose looked around her. She could see woman wiping tears from their cheeks and men smiling with pride. She looked back at Jack. Could this be possible? That she could finally have a chance at happiness with a man that actually cared about her? But what would his father think of her? She thought for a few seconds before realising that this could be her last chance of finding someone genuine and loving.

"I love you too Jack." She whispered finally, smiling to herself as she watched the relief flood over Jack's face. He grabbed her and pulled her close to him, connecting his lips with her. As he did, the crowd that had surrounded them erupted in cheers and applause as they finally watched one of their own get her happy ending. Finally they pulled away from each other, their eyes never leaving the other. They had completely drowned out everyone else around them, only focusing on each other.

"Please come with me. You need to come and see my father." Jack held her face in his hands, kissing her again.

Rose nodded. "Okay Jack, I'll come with you."

Jack smiled. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs, grinning at all those they ran past with Rose giggling as she followed him. Eventually they reached the boat deck where Grace was still sitting. She looked up as she heard laughing and was shocked as she saw Jack emerging from the lower decks, pulling a girl behind him. Grace stared at her, realising that he was walking with Anna. She sat staring at them as she tried to understand what was going on. Grace stood and watched them as they made their way down the boat deck, hand in hand. Once they were out of sight, she sat back down. After a few minutes, it suddenly clicked to her that Jack had lied to her. This girl wasn't called Anna. This was Rose. Grace threw herself up on her feet, steam almost coming out of her ears. She started to make her way back to the stateroom. There was no way she was about to lose Jack to this steerage tramp.

**A/N – Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews. I've been so nervous about doing this story and I really hope I'm being true to the time and doing it justice! Thanks again xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Rose was so unbelievably nervous, she could feel her heart rising in her chest, almost as if it was going to burst out. She followed Jack quickly but she could feel the dread taking over her as they got closer to where his father was. As they made their way inside the ship, Rose could feel the stares on her as they walked past and it made her feel incredibly self conscious. She kept her head down, hoping that no one spotted her.

"Miss Rose?" Jack stopped walking as he heard someone addressing Rose. He turned to her and saw the startled look on her face. "Rose? Is that really you?"

They were standing in front of master shipbuilder, Thomas Andrews. Jack's eyes darted from Mr Andrews to Rose. He knew that she would know a lot of these people but he was also well aware that Rose had wanted to stay discreet.

"Mr Andrews?" Rose finally said. She looked at him with a slight smile before leaning forward and placing an arm around his shoulder. He held her close to him before letting her pull back. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise Miss Rose. We haven't seen you around for a while. I heard about the engagement being called off." Mr Andrews offered a sympathetic look.

"It was for the best." She smiled. "This is my friend Mr Dawson." Turning to acknowledge Jack beside her, trying to steer the conversation away from her.

"Ah yes, John Dawson's boy right? I've seen you at dinner." He took Jack's hand, shaking it. Jack nodded.

"We really should be going Mr Andrew's but it was wonderful seeing you again." Rose smiled

"Good luck to you Rose." He took her hand and kissed it gently, causing many to stare at them.

"And to you." She turned and followed Jack towards his fathers stateroom. Grace watched from the boat deck doorway as Mr Andrews made his way down the grand staircase. She knew that something was definitely wrong. First Jack is running around this ship with this girl and now she's best friends with the man who designed the grandest ship in the world. It didn't make sense. She quickly followed them, determined to get to the bottom of this. By the time she reached John's stateroom they were already inside so she tried her best to listen through the door but it was too difficult, the door was too thick. Grace decided to chance her luck that they had moved back out to the promenade so slowly opened the door. Listening intently, she could hear muffled voices but she knew for definite that they weren't in the living room so she made her way inside, trying to find the most discreet place to hide.

"Well Rose you are just as beautiful as I remember." Jack's father offered her a chair to sit down in which Rose accepted. "Do you remember me? We met a few times at some business dinners."

Rose looked him over, taking in the features of his face. His hair was started to grey and he had small dimples in his cheeks which became apparent when he smiled. She tried to think back to those boring dinners and galas before she finally remembered him. "Yes, I do."

Jack smiled as he watched them both talk and get to know each other. He could read his father like a book, especially since they had become so much closer since his mother died and he knew that he was warming to Rose, regardless of the way she dressed. They sat talking together for well over an hour before Jack was suddenly distracted, hearing a loud crash coming from the living room. He and John quickly stood up.

"Stay here dear." John told her, following his son into the living room, ready to deal with a thief. Jack gasped as he turned into the living room to see Grace standing there beside a broken vase.

"Grace, what are you doing?" Jack stared at her.

"I just came in. I didn't want to disturb you, I was just coming in to get a shawl, it's getting quite cold outside." She lied.

But Jack wasn't buying it.

"Well now that you have it, we'll get back to our tea. Shall we Jack?" John motioned to the promenade, allowing Jack to walk in front of him. They made their way back out and sat down.

"Oh, tea? You wouldn't mind if I joined you?" Grace walked after them, not allowing them a chance to stop her. She stopped in her tracks as her eyes finally set on Rose. Although she knew she would be there, she was still shocked to see her sitting there, bold as brass, looking completely out of place. "And who is this?" she asked, looking Rose over. "Oh this is Anna isn't it? Why is she here Jack?" Grace turned to look at him but couldn't help notice the strange look on John's face.

"Anna?" he asked Jack. "No, Grace, this is Rose."

"So why did you tell me that her name was Anna?" Grace stared at Jack, rage now flaring in her eyes. Why had he lied to her?

Jack looked at the floor.

"It was my fault." Rose stood from her chair, trying to get past the evil look Grace kept giving her. "I asked him to lie."

John stared at her, willing her to explain.

"I asked him to lie because I didn't want anyone to know I was here. You know what my mother is like Mr Dawson? I couldn't risk her finding me. I didn't know that I would see Jack again. He knew everything though, right Jack?" she turned to him.

Jack nodded. "She told me the truth right from the start. She just didn't want anyone else to know."

John looked over them and smiled. "I understand Rose."

Grace was shocked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So what's going on here Jack? What is she doing here? Why is she suddenly always here?"

Jack smirked. He turned to Rose and walked towards her, taking her hand in his. He lifted his other hand and ran it along her face, brushing her hair back. Jack leaned forward and gently placed his lips upon hers. Rose felt startled that he was showing this level of affection in front of other people, especially his father and a woman who was in love with him but eventually she gave into it and closed her eyes, placing her hands on his hips.

John smiled as he watched them both. From spending the afternoon with Rose, he could see how much they cared for each other and it reminded him greatly of him and his wife.

"Jack!" Grace cried, finally causing them to break apart but Jack didn't turn round. He continued to stare at Rose, gazing into her eyes.

"Jack." She said again, grabbing onto his arm. "What about us? Are you choosing her over me? Look at her!" she pointed to Rose, emphasising the clothes she had on. Rose blushed, putting her head down. "You choose Jack. You choose right now. It's her or me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The four of them stood in silence for what seemed like a lifetime. Grace was still as angry as ever and John was moving his eyes about the room, landing on each of them one at a time.

"Come on Jack. Answer me." Grace demanded.

"Grace." Jack finally spoke. "There has never been an "us." Think back over the past few months. Yes we have spent a lot of time together and I've grown very fond of you, but nothing has ever happened between us."

John looked at him. He was surprised to hear that, even to hear that they had never so much as kissed properly. But looking at the two women in front of him, he was sure that he knew where Jack's heart lay. He'd introduced him to many women over the past few years and none of them had captured his attention the way that Rose had.

"But Jack, I thought we were happy. I thought we would have eventually got married." Grace took his hand and placed her other hand on his cheek. "I thought that was what you wanted?"

Rose stood from her chair. She had watched enough of this and if Jack was happy with this girl then she wasn't about to come between them. "I think I should go. Thank you for the tea Mr Dawson." She said, walking towards the door. John looked at her as she passed him before quickly looking back to Jack.

"No Rose, wait." Jack shouted, pulling away from Grace, leaving her shocked. Jack quickly caught up to her, grabbing onto her hand, stopping her from going any further. "I don't even know why I hesitated there. If she wants me to choose then fine, I will."

Rose turned to face him, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Jack lifted his hands to her face, running his fingers through her hair, pulling her face to his before placing his lips against hers and wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"I think my son has made his choice Grace." John turned to her. In a way he felt bad for this girl. She hadn't done anything apart from fall for a man that clearly didn't have the same feelings for her but there was no point in her wasting any more of her time if Jack didn't care for her in the same way. She had tears in her eyes but John was sure that she was more angry that upset. "You are welcome to stay with us until we dock Grace."

Grace turned to him. "That's quite alright Mr Dawson. I believe there are a couple of cabins unoccupied. I will call a steward and ask to be moved. I don't see it as appropriate to be here any longer."

"Grace." Jack turned to her. "You don't need to do this."

"Yes I do Jack. I can't stay here knowing you are with her." Grace turned and walked towards the door. "A steward will be here shortly for my things. I thank you for your hospitality over these past few months Mr Dawson." She said, stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind her.

John turned to look at Jack, who was standing with his arm wrapped protectively around Rose's shoulder. "I don't know how this is going to work Jack. I don't have a problem with Rose occupying that room but I don't want her feeling uncomfortable, and we have no other clothes for her."

Rose shook her head. She hated when people spoke about her as if she wasn't there. "That really isn't necessary Mr Dawson. I am quite happy staying where I have been for the past two days."

Jack turned to look at her. "Rose, I don't want you staying down there. You belong here, with me."

"Jack, your father is right. I don't fit in here right now. And to be honest, I don't know yet if I want to be part of all this again." Rose looked down.

"I will leave you both alone to talk. Whatever you decide, is alright with me." John said, exiting the room to leave them.

"Come on." Jack said, leading her towards his own room. "Just in case Grace comes back."

Rose followed him into the next room and sat down in one of the large arm chairs. "What do we do then Jack? I don't fit in here any longer."

"Rose, I know you're not sure what you want to do, but please just hear me out. Think back to what your life was like before. You hated it because Cal didn't treat you right, your mother forced you to act a certain way and you had to give up your own dreams in order to please those around you. No wonder you were miserable. But I'm not going to do that. I'm due to take over my father's business but that's not going to happen for some time. I want to travel, and see the world. And I mean actually see it. Not just travel somewhere for work then come back. I spent the past few weeks in England and I only seen the town I was in and the road between there and Southampton. I want to see more. I want to live, and do things that I wouldn't normally be able to do. But I don't want to do it alone. You could easily come back to this life, but do it in a way that makes you happy. I'm not going to force you to attend business dinners and parties. I mean, I will always be happy to have you there with me but I'm not going to expect it of you. You've told me that you can't expect me to give up my life. Well maybe neither of us have to give up anything. We both have so much to gain." Jack sat beside her and took her hands, rubbing his thumbs over them.

Rose smiled. She looked up at him and could see the sincerity in his eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him gently. "You're right Jack." She smiled, kissing him again.

"I am?" he grinned.

Rose nodded. "I want to be with you. And if that means coming back to this..." she motioned to her surroundings. "Then I will. But we can't until we arrive in New York. Your father's right. I have nothing to wear. How would I fit in at dinner?"

Jack understood. He knew it made sense and he couldn't expect Grace to leave behind a couple of the hundred or so dresses that she brought with her. "Okay Rose but as soon as we get to New York, you're coming home with me." Jack smiled, pulling her to him.

...

Meanwhile Grace was staking around the ship trying to work out where everything had gone wrong. She couldn't make sense of all this. Just a few days ago, everything seemed perfect but now this woman had appeared and everything had gone wrong. She spotted Mr Andrews standing in front of her, remembering he had been talking to Rose earlier, she rushed over to him.

"Mr Andrews, do you mind if I speak to you?" she smiled.

"Not at all Miss Grace, how can I be of assistance?" He stood aside to let people pass them.

"That girl you were talking to earlier who was with Mr Dawson, who is she?" she asked, determined to find out something about her.

"Oh Miss Rose? She was due to wed Mr Caledon Hockley last year." Mr Andrews told her.

Grace's eyes widened as she heard Cal's name. She had seen him in the papers several times and knew he was extremely wealthy. What would he want with Rose?

Mr Andrews continued telling Grace the story. "And I believe she is trying to stay away from her mother because of all this. Anyway Miss Grace, I'm sorry to cut our chat short but I really must be going."

"Oh that's alright, thank you. You've been more than helpful." Grace smiled, watching him disappear down the staircase.

She wandered around for a while until an idea suddenly came to her. Smiling to herself, she quickly made her way to the wireless room. She vowed to get Jack back if it was the last thing she did.

**A/N – So much for only being less than 10 chapters! I'm actually really enjoying writing this story so I'll just keep going until it naturally ends. Any suggestions would be welcome **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N – Thanks so much to jackdawson-love for the suggestions! (there were a lot of them! Lol) I've decided where I'm going with this now and i'm going to stick with the original story line so the ship will still sink. It's probably still a couple of chapters away but just wanted to give you all a heads up.**

**Chapter 13**

That evening, Jack was getting ready to go to dinner. He had walked Rose back to her cabin an hour or so before and had felt miserable when he had to leave her. He would have done anything for her to stay with him for the rest of the voyage but he understood her reasons for going back. Jack was also dreading facing Grace again. He couldn't blame her for being angry, he hadn't treated her very well but this was one of the reasons he hated the way people ended up together these days. Someone was chosen for you out of a crowd of people and you just had to accept it but then sometimes, someone special would come into your life and you had to make a decision. This was one of those times but Jack had found the decision extremely easy and he'd been grateful of the support from his father when he told him. Ensuring his tie was straight, he checked himself in the mirror and then made his way to the dining room to meet his father. He smiled as he met Molly on the way.

"Well hello there son. How have things been going?" Molly grinned, winking at him. "I've been hearing on the grapevine that you have a new lady in your life. And judging by the look on Grace's face when I seen her earlier, I can guess that she knows about it as well."

"Yeah, she didn't take the news too well." Jack whispered. "But it was for the best. I'm just disappointed that Rose can't spend the rest of the journey with me. She can't even come for dinner because she doesn't have anything appropriate to wear."

Molly nodded. "Well Jack, I'm sure it will be worth it when we dock. You'll have plenty of meals to eat together when you're home."

Jack smiled. He knew Molly was right.

"Now if you'll excuse me Jack. I have something to take care of before dinner." Molly tapped him on the shoulder before disappearing outside. She made her way along the boat deck before heading down the third class stairs into the general room where she had met Rose before. She smiled as she saw Rose playing with a little boy in the middle of the room. Walking towards them, the little boy suddenly sat up and looked past Rose, causing her to turn around.

"Molly!" she cried, jumping to her feet, rushing to her.

"Hello Rose." She smiled, embracing her. "I've been hearing your news."

Rose blushed.

"Come on dear, sit down with me and tell me what's happening." Molly motioned for them to sit on the bench. She followed her and sat down beside her and told her everything that had happened that day.

"...so I'm just not able to spend time with him on here. I don't have any of my old clothes." Rose sighed.

"Right I have heard enough." Molly stood to her feet. "Come on. We don't have a lot of time." She held her hand out to Rose who slowly took it, unsure of what was going to happen. Molly led her back to her cabin and told her to sit down while she disappeared into the closet. She came out several minutes later holding several different items. Rose gasped as she watched Molly lay out some of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen on the bed and lay several pairs of shoes on the floor.

"Molly, what is all this?" she stared at the outfits, running her fingers over the lace and sequins.

"These are my daughters. But honestly, she must have about two hundred other ones at home, she won't miss a few of them. Most of these have never been worn. She's about your size. I want you to have them." Molly smiled. She also placed a couple of corsets on the bed along with some other undergarments. "I bought these for her while I was in France. I can always buy others when I get home. I have a spare trunk you can use to keep them in."

Rose stared at her. "What are you saying Molly?"

"I want you to have them dear. You deserve to be with Jack and he misses you terribly when you're not with him. Come on, let's get you ready and we'll go down for dinner." Molly smiled.

"Molly, I can't accept all this. It's too much." Rose stood up, shocked at Molly's generosity.

"Rose, now you will take this. I want you to be happy. Come on, please, let's get you ready and go down and surprise that man of yours." Molly grinned, finally managing to talk Rose into getting dressed.

...

Jack sighed as he played with his fork. Everyone around him was caught up in their own conversations and he could feel Grace's eyes boring into him.

"Jack." His father whispered to him.

Jack looked up at him, suddenly realising that the room had gone deathly quiet. John raised his eyebrows, encouraging Jack to turn around. He slowly did so, his eyes scanning the room before they finally rested on the entrance. He saw Molly walking towards them but straight after her, he could have sworn he seen an angel. She was wearing an intricate dress covered in crystal glass beading. Black lace covered the dress and she was wearing long white gloves. Her hair was pinned up and her neck was adorned with a beautiful diamond necklace. Jack stood slowly from his chair, his eyes never leaving her, even when Molly passed him and grinned. Molly took a seat a couple of seats away from Jack, allowing Rose to take the seat beside him. A steward appeared beside Rose and pulled her chair out, allowing her to sit down. She was feeling extremely sub conscious and was sure everyone was staring at her. Looking around the table, she had caught the eye of Mr Andrews who smiled and nodded to her. She acknowledged this and smiled back. Jack's father also was smiling at her. His opinion of Margaret Brown had improved as he realised what she had done to make both his son and Rose happy and he greatly appreciated it. Rose continued to look around the table and she took in a deep breath and her eyes finally landed on Grace. She could tell straight away that Grace wasn't happy to see her there but she had to rise above it and refused to jeopardise this chance that she had to show that she still could be a part of this world.

"You look beautiful Rose." Jack leaned across and whispered in her ear.

She turned to look at him and smiled. "Thank you Mr Dawson."

Rose joined first class as easily as she left it. Jack was impressed by how she remembered things and how well she fitted back in. She was charming and Jack could tell that those around her were very impressed by her.

"Where did you get the outfits then Rose?" Jack was curious as to how she had acquired them.

"Molly. She came to find me earlier. She's given me several dresses, shoes, jewellery. I can't even begin to thank her enough for everything she has done for me." Rose admitted.

They sat there until dinner ended and slowly the number of people at the table began to reduce.

"I should be getting back." Rose turned to Jack.

"Back where?" he asked, confused.

"Back to my cabin." Rose confirmed.

Jack stared at her. "Rose. The room next to mine is yours. I want you to stay there."

"Jack, I can't do that. What about Grace?" she turned her head slightly, still seeing that Grace was staring at them.

"Grace moved her things out after you left. I told her she didn't need to but she insisted. I don't want you going back there because this is where you belong. We belong together." Jack squeezed her hand under the table. She smiled and nodded.

"I'll need to get the rest of my things tomorrow then."

Jack nodded. "We'll deal with that, don't worry. Do you want to go back to the room? We can sit and talk?"

Rose smiled. "I'd like that."

Jack rose from the table. "I'm going to escort Rose back father."

John nodded, smiling at both of them. He hadn't seen his son looking this happy since before his mother died and he was pleased to look at the young lady who had put that smile back on his face.

"Goodnight everyone." Jack waved goodbye before holding his arm out for Rose to take. She gratefully slipped her gloved hand through his arm, and let him lead her back to the cabin.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Jack and Rose took their time walking back to their staterooms, taking a detour along the boat deck. It was the evening of the 12th and according to Mr Ismay; they were making excellent time on their crossing of the Atlantic. Jack noticed Rose was shivering as they walked along the long deck. He pulled off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She smiled, pulling the lapels tight to her chest. Jack suddenly stopped and stared up at the sky. The sky was black but with traces of blues and purples through it. The stars looked like little diamonds dotted around a blank canvas and the moon lit up the night sky, spreading light across the water in front of them. Rose noticed he had fell behind her and turned, following his gaze up to the dark sky.

"It's so vast and endless." She said. "And we're so small."

Jack turned to look at her, watching her grab onto a rope, pulling herself around.

"My old crowd; they think they're giants. They're not even dust in God's eye. That's why I had to get away, no one should think they're bigger than they are." Rose stared out to sea, seeming lost in thought.

"You got mailed to the wrong address." Jack smirked.

"I did, didn't I?" Rose laughed. "Look! A shooting star!" she said, pointing up at the sky.

"My mother always said that every time you saw one, it was a soul going to heaven." Jack sighed, trying to push the memories of his mother to the back of his mind. It still hurt when he thought about her and sometimes Jack thought that he would give anything just to see her one last time. He hadn't been home when she had died and Jack had always regretted that, wishing that he had made the effort to spend more time with her.

"I like that." Rose smiled. "Aren't we supposed to wish on it?"

Jack turned to her. "Why? What would you wish for?"

The smile disappeared from Rose's face as she studied him. "Something I can't have."

Jack tried to understand her words. He thought they were on track and now she wasn't sure they could be together? He didn't understand it.

"Come on Jack, I'm cold, I'd like to go back now." She said, walking towards the first class entrance. Jack turned and watched her walking away before gazing back out to the sea, then finally following her inside.

Eventually they made it back to their cabins. Jack checked his watch and noted it was now well past eleven. His father was likely already in bed. He followed Rose to her door in silence, stopping when she opened it. She turned to face him and smiled before reaching up and brushing a strand of his hair out of his face. The corridor was silent as most people would have gone to bed by now so it was just the two of them.

"I had a lovely evening Jack, thank you." She said.

"You're welcome." Jack fidgeted with the watch in his pocket. This woman made him nervous and he didn't know why.

"Goodnight Jack." She said, disappearing inside and closing the door behind her. Jack stood staring at the door for sometime before finally making his way to his own room. He sat down in the armchair and kicked off his shoes and loosened his tie. Jack leaned forward and put his head in his hands, trying to think of how he could prove to Rose that she should be with him. Eventually, trying to think of how to fix this began giving him a headache so he stood up and walked towards the closet to get changed. Once he had done this, he made his way to his bed and climbed in, pulling the sheets up to his chin before finally falling asleep.

"_Don't give up on me Jack." The voice came to him out of nowhere, startling him. He looked up and that's when he saw her coming towards him. She was breathtaking. Jack stood as she appeared before him. She was dressed as she always was in his dreams, wearing a long flowing white dress which almost blended in to her pale porcelain skin. Her emerald green eyes popped and were one of the first things that Jack had noticed about her and they shimmered as the light caught them. Her hair fell loose over her shoulders and delicately framed her face._

"_What do you mean?" he asked._

"_Don't give up on me." She repeated. "Give it time. You know we belong together."_

_Jack smiled. He enjoyed these dreams, it was as if Rose was giving him messages giving him advice on what to do and he knew that if he followed them, things would be alright._

_Suddenly there was a loud noise. Almost like a clock chime. Jack looked around, trying to see where it was coming from. It continued several times with long intervals in between._

"_I must go now Jack." Rose smiled. _

"_No, Rose please stay with me." Jack pleaded. The loud noise continued._

"_Good bye Jack." And with that she was gone. But the noise kept going, but it was getting louder._

Jack woke up with a start. He shook his head as the loud noise continued to ring in his ears. Eventually the room quietened and Jack looked around, trying to get his eyes to focus. He jumped as he heard another bang. It took him a few seconds to realise that the noise was coming from his door. Jack wondered who could be knocking at this hour. He climbed out of bed, pulled on his robe and slid his feet into his slippers. He walked towards the door and slowly opened his, squinting his eyes as they were met with the bright light from the next room.

"Hello Jack."

"Rose? Are you alright?" Jack opened the door completely.

"Yes. I'm sorry for waking you. I just had to speak with you." Rose clung onto the robe that Molly had given her, holding it tight across her chest.

"Of course. Come in." Jack stood aside and allowed her to come inside, quickly checking behind her as she passed to make sure no one saw her enter. He didn't need anyone making a fuss about her being in his room at this time of night. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She turned to face him. "I just felt awful about how I left things with us this evening. After you had been so good to me. I was just a bit overwhelmed. It's a lot to take in, being back here."

Jack nodded, taking a seat in one of the armchairs. "I understand Rose. Take all the time you need, there's no rush. I want you to be happy and if things are going too fast for you then we can slow it down. But I love you Rose." He said, standing to his feet and walking towards her. "I don't know how and I don't know why but ever since I saw you, you hypnotised me. I've been seeing you in my dreams for months and as soon as I noticed you standing next to that river, I knew it was a sign."

Rose looked down. Staring at his hands, she reached forward and took one of them, rubbing her thumbs over his knuckles. She lifted her eyes back to his face, having to lift her head quite far back. Without her heels on, she was quite a bit smaller than Jack. They stood watching each other before Jack reached up and moved a strand of her hair back behind her ear. Without warning, Rose lifted herself up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to Jack's, startling him. He pulled back away from her, wondering where that had come from. He felt a pang in his heart as he noticed the look of hurt in her eyes because he had stopped. Jack took a deep breath before placing both of his hands on the side of her face, pulling her back to him, pressing his lips against hers. Rose wrapped her arms around his waist, clinging onto him as his tongue began to explore her mouth. Rose was taken aback as she had never experienced this level of intimacy with a man before but she trusted Jack and she knew he wouldn't push her into anything she wasn't ready for. But she was well aware why she had come to his room, she knew that she wanted him. Jack slowed their kiss right down, eventually placing short sharp kisses on her lips and cheeks, finally pulling back from her. She smiled as she took a step back from him. Jack watched her, wondering what she was going to do and his breath caught in his chest as he saw her hands travelling up to the tie around her waist. She loosened it, allowing the robe to fall open, revealing her night gown underneath. Jack stared at her before closing the gap between them.

"Rose?"

She nodded as if giving him an answer to a question that he hadn't actually asked but she knew what he was thinking. She lifted her hands to his chest and pushed his robe from his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground revealing his undergarments.

"Are you sure?" Jack watched her as she started to loosen his pants. She nodded slowly, reaching up and gently kissing him. Jack allowed her to continue, quite happy to let things go at her pace. She suddenly stopped, taking his hand before leading him across to the large bed in the corner of the room. She sat down on the edge of the bed and motioned for him to come over to her. Jack did as she wanted and slowly made his way across until he was standing in front of her. Rose lifted her arms up in the air, making it clear to Jack what she wanted him to do. Knowing exactly what she meant, he reached down to her sides and lifted up her night gown, slowly bringing it over her head. Jack dropped it on the ground, before letting his eyes drift over her body. She was even more beautiful that he could have ever imagined, and completely flawless. She lay back and took Jack's hand, pulling him on top of her. That night, Jack made love to her as if his life depended on it. He took his time, being sure to be careful with her, almost treating her as though she was a fragile vase that could break at any moment. If this was how he could show her how much he loved her, he didn't want to risk anything by being too rough or forceful. Afterwards, Rose lay in his arms, her arm draped over his stomach and her head resting on his chest, listening to the sound of his beating heart. Never in her life had she felt so content.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sunlight spread throughout Jack's stateroom, eventually resting on his face. He rubbed his eyes as he forced himself awake. He turned around in his bed to lie on his stomach, when he realised that he was alone. Jack sat upright and looked around the room. He started to wonder if he had dreamt the previous night, but part of him knew that there was no idea that he could have dreamt something so amazing. Jack had been with women before but nothing like this. This time he had made love to someone. He hadn't just had sex for a bit of fun, he genuinely loved the woman he was with and somehow, it made it all so much better. He quickly grabbed his pyjamas after realising that he had fallen asleep naked and pulled them on. As he walked across the room, he noticed a piece of paper lying on the table. Curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up.

_Hear my soul speak; the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service._

_Sleep, my love._

_Your Rose_

Jack smiled at the Shakespearean quote she had written. It summed up exactly how he felt for her. He knew that she must have woken and realised she had to get back to her own room. It wasn't appropriate for them to be found in bed together out of wedlock. Jack quickly started getting ready, desperate to get to breakfast so he could see her again.

"Good morning Jack." John smiled. "I was wondering what was keeping you. I escorted Rose to breakfast. I didn't want her starving because you couldn't force yourself out of bed." His father laughed.

Jack smiled. "Apologies for the lateness." His eyes drifted across the table until they finally rested on Rose and suddenly he felt as though he was walking on air. She blushed and lowered her head as Jack took his seat beside her.

Over breakfast, the chat ranged from the weather to the stock market, but Jack and Rose ignored it all, focusing only on each other. Rose was sure that she was radiating sexual energy and that someone would somehow work out what she and Jack had been up to the previous night and she was adamant that if she looked anyone in the eye, they would be able to see right into her soul and read her mind.

They continued like this for the rest of the day, spending most of the afternoon on the boat deck talking about their hopes and dreams. Jack had told her about his love of drawing and even showed her some of his work.

"Jack, this is exquisite work." She had told him, flicking through the sheets of paper including the one of the old man sitting in the park that he drew the day before he boarded Titanic. He had shown her pictures that he had drawn whilst he had been in Paris the previous fall and she had come across several drawings of naked women, which caused her to raise her eyebrows at him.

"Well, well, well. And these were drawn from life?" she had asked. Jack nodded, his cheeks flushing.

"Well that's the good thing about Paris, lot of girls willing to take their clothes off." Jack had laughed.

"You like this woman." Rose lifted several sheets of paper, all depicting the same girl. "You used her several times."

"She had beautiful hands you see." Jack showed her another picture.

"I think you must have had a love affair with her." Rose teased.

"No, no, no, no, just with her hands." Jack laughed. "She was a one legged prostitute. Ah, she had a good sense of humour though." Rose had smiled at him, amazed by his raw talent of capturing an image and putting in onto paper.

...

That evening, they had gone to dinner and tried to ignore the stares coming from Grace across the table. John had noticed and kept trying to divert Grace's attention away from them but so far had been unsuccessful.

"Jack." Rose whispered.

Jack turned to her. "Is everything alright?"

Rose shook her head. "I miss my friends that I came here with. Would it be terrible if I went to see them after dinner?"

Jack smiled. "Not at all."

"Would you come with me? It could be fun. They tend to have music and dancing. You saw it a few nights ago." Rose smiled.

Jack laughed quietly at the memory when he had taken Molly to see Rose. He had enjoyed himself that night and it was fun to let his hair down a bit. He nodded. "We'll go once we've finished."

...

They had gone down to the third class general room after they had finished eating. Rose knew that being dressed the way she was, she stood out like a sore thumb but she was looking forward to seeing her friends and little Eddie again. She knew that once she docked in New York, she would be going back with Jack to his home in Wisconsin and although she was now looking forward to this new chapter in her life, she would miss those that she had become friends with over the last year. Rose made a mental note to write to Mrs Beckwith when she arrived in America to let her know what had been happening.

Through the rest of the night, Rose had enjoyed dancing with her friends while Jack had played cards with a few of the men from steerage. He had gotten to know a cheeky Irish man named Tommy Ryan and an Italian named Fabrizio and had spent most of the night drinking with them, watching Rose as she was swung around the stage.

Jack looked over the scene in front of him. He made a decision there and then that no matter what his life was like, he would always make room for having fun and was determined not to be sucked into the first class way of life. He promised Rose a different life from what she had before and he knew that if he didn't let go once in a while, they're lives would end up the same way that hers and Cal's would have been and Jack was determined not to let that happen.

"Well gentlemen, it's been a pleasure, but we really should be heading back." Jack said, rising from his chair and checking his watch. "I hope to see you both again before we dock."

Tommy tipped his cap to Jack while Fabrizio gave a half hearted wave as he was too engrossed speaking to a beautiful Norwegian girl named Helga.

"Rose?" Jack called, walking over to her. She turned and smiled, throwing her arms around him. Jack laughed as he tried to steady her; she'd clearly had a bit too much to drink. "Come on, we should be getting back before my father realises we haven't been back to the room."

Rose nodded, before turning around and hugging her friends and placing a kiss on little Eddie's head. She stood and took Jack's hand, allowing him to lead her back up the stairs, leaving behind the noise and music and walking further into the silence of the upper class.

...

"Up a little late aren't we?" Jack stopped in his tracks, gripping Rose's hand tighter as he came face to face with Grace. Rose suddenly sobered up as she saw the glare that Grace was giving them.

"Excuse me please Grace." Jack asked, trying to get passed her as she blocked the way to his stateroom.

"Would your father be happy to know you were out at this time of night?" Grace asked.

"That really is none of your concern any longer Grace." Jack directed Rose in front of him to quickly pass her.

"You can keep up this charade while you're on this ship Jack but once you get back home, you'll realise that she no longer belongs in your world." Grace called after them as they disappeared into their rooms.

"Is she right Jack?" Rose sighed, sitting down in one of the chairs, pulling off her shoes.

"What?" Jack narrowed his eyebrows at her, sitting down in the next chair.

"Perhaps she has a point. Maybe I can't do this again." Rose started to pull the pins from her hair.

Jack knelt down beside her and took her hands in his. "Rose, you've only been back for a day. You can't expect to just slot back into things so easily. It'll take time. But I'm here for you, and so is my father, we'll help you through this. But you've been doing so well. I've told you, whether your here with me, or I go back with you, I don't care. I've told you that I would give all of this up for you. As long as we're together, I don't care if we're living in a mansion or under a bridge, just as long as we're together."

Rose smiled, leaning forward so her forehead was resting against his. She still had a nagging doubt that there was some truth in what Grace was saying but she trusted Jack so she believed what he was telling her. Jack lifted his head up and placed a kiss in the centre of her eyes before standing up. He held his hand out for Rose and she happily took it, following him through to his room.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Rose stirred as she heard a light knocking at her door. It was the morning of April 14 and they were about half way through their journey. Rose stood up and wrapped her robe around her, tying it tight to her waist. She quickly walked to the door and opened it, revealing a meek looking woman standing in front of her.

"Can I help you?" Rose asked.

"Miss Rose. Mr Dawson has asked me to come and assist you this morning. I am his maid, Trudy." Trudy kept her head down, curtseying slightly.

"Jack?" Rose asked her, suddenly remembering what it was like to have help.

Trudy shook her head. "Mr Dawson Snr."

Rose smiled. Jack's father had really looked after her since she had joined them and she really appreciated it. "Come in." Rose held the door back for her. She made her way into her closet and picked out what she planned to wear that day along with her corset. Rose had always hated these things but she understood the social protocol to wear them. Trudy assisted her to get dressed and tied her into the restrictive garment before helping her put her dress on. Just as they had finished, there was another knock at the door and Trudy rushed to open it. Rose smiled as she saw Jack appear in front of her.

"Ready to go to breakfast?" He asked. Rose nodded, sliding her arm through his.

"Thank you for helping me Trudy." She smiled. Trudy nodded, shocked that she had been thanked for doing her job. She wasn't used to getting any kind of appreciation.

...

Jack and Rose spent most of the day up on the boat deck. They had taken to walking around the deck several times in the afternoon just talking and getting to know one another better. Jack had learnt all about Rose and her life before she had run away and with each story she told, she amazed him even more. She was so strong, leaving all the luxuries behind her and starting afresh in a strange place, all alone.

They always managed to get onto the subject of their dreams, both having felt trapped in their lives and unable to pursue them.

"You know, my dream has always been to just chuck it all and become an artist... living in a garret, poor but free!" Rose smiled, looking off over the horizon. "And then I did it. And although it didn't end up the way I thought it would, it was so worth it."

"Did you manage to cope without hot water and limited caviar?" Jack laughed.

"I happen to hate caviar." Rose snapped. "And I'm sick of people telling me what dreams I should and shouldn't have."

Jack lowered his head, realising he had greatly offended her. "I'm sorry."

"Alright. There's something in me Jack, I feel it. I don't know what it is, whether I should be an artist, or, I don't know...a dancer! Like Isadora Duncan...a wild pagan spirit..." Rose leapt forward, whirling like a dervish. Then she spotted something in front of her and her face lit up, rushing forward with Jack quickly following. "...or a moving picture actress!"

A man was standing at the side of the ship, cranking a big wooden movie camera. Rose giggled as she jumped in front of it, posing tragically at the rail with the back of her hand against her forehead.

Jack laughed, taking her hand and pulling her along the deck before finally stopping and leaning against the rail. The sun was starting to go down and the sky was like up with a mesh of oranges, reds and yellows.

"It's so beautiful." Rose sighed, resting her head on Jack's shoulder. They stood there for some time just gazing out over the calm ocean before it finally got too cold for them. Jack held his arm out for her and Rose let him guide her back to their staterooms to dress for dinner.

...

After they had eaten, Rose had complained of a headache so Jack offered to take her back to her room.

"I just had to get out of there Jack. It was starting to get a bit much for me." Rose sat down on one of the chairs and slipped her feet out of her shoes. She stood up and wandered over to a table sitting in the corner of the room. She picked up Jack's portfolio which he had shown her before and leafed through the pictures. Jack watched her from the couch, wondering what she was thinking. Suddenly she put the paper back down and stood up, silently walking through to her room. Jack leaned to the side so he could see her through the door and noticed that she was searching through the bag that she had brought up from her old room. She took something from it, something that Jack couldn't see, and walked back through to the sitting room. Jack stood as she approached him, holding a box in her hands. She opened it and lifted out one of the most amazing gems Jack had ever seen. She handed it to him, closing the box and placing it on the table.

"That's nice. Is it a sapphire?" Jack looked over the large blue stone surrounded by diamonds. Although he had been around expensive jewellery, he had never really paid attention to them.

"A diamond. A very rare diamond. It's called the heart of the ocean." Rose smiled. "Cal gave it to me while we were engaged. He's never asked for it back. I couldn't bring myself to sell it. I wanted to get by without Cal's help."

Jack nodded.

"Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls, wearing this." Rose looked up at him.

"Alright." Jack still hadn't taken his eyes from the jewel in his hand.

"Wearing only this." She confirmed.

Jack turned to look at her. He wasn't quite sure he had heard her right. She had already given herself to him, but somehow Jack felt that this was so much more intimate. He watched as she disappeared back into her room, closing the door behind her. Jack quickly made his way across the room and locked the doors, running his hand through his hair, he exhaled. He quickly took off his jacket and loosened his shirt before rearranging the room, moving the couch into the centre. He was sharpening his charcoal when he heard Rose's door reopen. He looked up, slowly stopping what he was doing as she appeared in front of him, wearing only a sheer kimono. She ran her hands up to the middle of her chest and slowly pulled off the robe, revealing her naked body to him. She was trembling, although she hoped Jack couldn't tell. He stared at her, almost unable to move before finally pointing behind her.

"Over on the bed...the couch." He quickly corrected himself, cursing under his breath for letting the words slip out.

She didn't even acknowledge it and slowly made her way to the couch, lying down and trying to position herself. "Tell me when it looks..."

"There." Jack said. "Put your arm back the way it was. Okay, head down. Eyes to me, keep them on me."

Jack took a deep breath and put it charcoal to the paper. She was the most beautiful subject he had ever drawn and it made him nervous that he wouldn't do it justice.

"So serious." Rose teased, trying to break the tension. Jack smiled, trying to concentrate. "I believe you are blushing Mr big artiste. Can't imagine monsieur Monet blushing."

"He does landscapes." Jack quickly retorted. "Just relax your face. No laughing."

"Sorry." Rose apologised, taking a deep breath. She lay there for some time until Jack finally finished. Her heart was pounding. He signalled to her that he was finished and she stood up, quickly wrapping herself up in her robe, before walking behind Jack to see his work. She gasped as she saw herself on the paper. It was spectacular. Rose had had portraits of herself drawn before but she always looked like a porcelain doll. This picture was so real, so raw and exposed but it was her.

"Date it Jack. I want to always remember this night." Rose whispered.

Jack scrawled the date along with his initials in the corner before handing her the portfolio. She leaned forward, taking it.

"Thank you." She smiled, kissing him. They were suddenly disturbed by a loud knock at the door. Rose quickly disappeared into her room, remembering she was naked under the robe while Jack stood and went to open the door.

"Lovejoy." Jack addressed his manservant.

"Mr Dawson, your father had sent me to check on you. He thought you would have come back after escorting Miss Rose to her room." He looked around at the strewn furniture and his tie and jacket lying on the bed before bring his accusing eyes back to Jack.

"She isn't feeling good. I thought it best to stay with her. You can let me father know I won't be back this evening." Jack insisted.

Lovejoy once again looked around the room before nodding and disappearing out the door. He didn't trust Rose and assumed she was here because she couldn't cope with live without her family she was trying to find another family to take her in.

"Well? What was going on?" Grace appeared in front of him as the door closed.

"Something was certainly going on." Lovejoy told her. "I couldn't see the girl but the furniture was all over the place and Mr Dawson was missing some of his clothing."

Grace stomped her foot like a petulant child. "We need to do something about her Lovejoy."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Jack glanced at his watch. It was almost 10pm and he could see that it was almost completely dark outside. Rose was sitting curled up on the couch looking through Jack's pictures again and Jack was leaning over the open window on their private promenade.

"Rose." Jack called her, walking back through to the sitting room. She looked up from his portfolio as he appeared in the doorway. "I'm going to go get some air on the boat deck. Do you mind?"

Rose shook her head and smiled. "I'm probably going to go get some sleep soon anyway."

Jack nodded and leaned down to kiss her before making his way out the door, closing it behind him. Rose sighed and continued to flick through his pictures. After a while, she closed it over and placed it down on the table. She made her way through to her room, got into her nightgown and climbed into bed, turning off the light.

...

Jack wandered around the deck aimlessly, smoking a cigarette and letting his eyes drift over the calm water. He looked up to see the sky was a lot darker than usual and he couldn't see a moon. Jack pulled out his pocket watch and looked at the time under one of the deck lights. He had wandered around for well over an hour and it was now after 11.30pm. Jack leaned took out another cigarette and lit it before leaning over the railing looking out over the forward deck. Jack stood there for a few more minutes before throwing his cigarette stub overboard. Just as he was about to make his way back to his cabin, he heard a loud ringing noise coming from above him followed by a lot of yelling so Jack turned back around to look out ahead of him, trying to work out why there was so much commotion. As he turned, his eyes widened and he took several steps back until his back met the wall. He stared up ahead of him as the sight of a massive iceberg appeared in front of them, as if magically emerging from the darkness. He pressed his hands against the wall as if trying to steady himself, almost sure that his legs were about to give way. The ship was slowly starting to divert around the berg and Jack willed it to move quicker.

"It's gonna hit!" Jack heard someone shout from down on the deck and just had that, Jack felt as though the earth was moving beneath his feet. He looked at the staircase that was beside him and the railings were clearly shaking with the force of the impact. Jack felt as though he was frozen to the ground as he watched the iceberg eventually pass by in front of him, so close that Jack could have reached out and touched it. Jack watched it float along the full length of the ship, his eyes catching that of a man who was a few feet away from him. Eventually Jack let his breath out, feeling as though he had been holding it forever.

...

Meanwhile, the shudder had woken Rose up. She rubbed her eyes, feeling extremely groggy.

_What was that? _ She wondered to herself. Rose got out of bed and made her way into her closet and pulled on the easiest outfit she could wear. Rose opened the door to her cabin and looked up and down the corridor. There was no one around but Rose figured the majority of people had gone to bed. She closed the door again and made her way into the sitting room. She hadn't heard Jack come back and wondered where he had gone.

...

"Miss Grace." Lovejoy knocked hard on her door. "Miss Grace!"

"What is it?" Grace flung the door open, unhappy that she had been woken up.

"I must speak with you. It's urgent." Lovejoy insisted.

Grace groaned and widened the door, allowing him inside. "What is going on that couldn't wait until..."

"We've struck an iceberg." Lovejoy blurted out.

The colour drained from Grace's face as she studied him, trying to work out if she was playing a cruel trick on her. "What?"

"About 15minutes ago. I'm trying to find out the seriousness of this." He told her.

"We've struck an iceberg Lovejoy, I can't imagine it's a time to be flippant!" she yelled at him, running through to the other room to dress.

"I just saw Mr Dawson up on the boat deck...alone." Lovejoy told her, almost shouting through the closed door.

"No Rose?" She yelled back.

"No. I think she is in her stateroom." Lovejoy sat down, waiting on her appearing.

After a few minutes, Grace came back, a wicked smile on her face. Lovejoy smiled, knowing she was up to something.

"Come with me." She said, disappearing out into the hall with Lovejoy quickly following her. She made her way to the grand staircase and her eyes scanned over the figures in front of her, before finally stopping on Mr Andrews.

"Mr Andrews, please tell me what's going on." She pleaded with him, clinging onto his arm. Mr Andrews looked down at her before taking her aside.

"The ship will sink. In an hour or so, all this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic." He confided. Grace's hand flew up to her mouth. She knew it was serious but had no idea to what extent. "Please tell only who you must. I don't want to be responsible for a panic. And get to a boat straight away alright?"

Grace nodded. "I understand." She turned back to Lovejoy as Mr Andrews quickly ran off.

"Lovejoy, go and find Jack. Keep him busy. I'll deal with Rose." Grace ordered.

...

Rose decided that she had waited too long for Jack. She could hear a lot of commotion going on and she had no idea what was happening. Just as she slipped her feet into her shoes, she heard a knock at the door. Hoping it was Jack, she rushed to the door and pulled it open, her face falling as she saw Grace in front of her.

"Grace?"

"Rose!" Grace tried to act alarmed. "Haven't you heard?"

Rose shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"We've hit an iceberg. The ship is sinking." Grace cried, wiping away fake tears from her eyes.

Rose stared at her, unable to take in what she was saying.

"That's not all." Grace said. "Lovejoy just told me that he seen Jack heading down to the lower decks when we hit. The place is flooding and if he doesn't get back up here, he could be trapped."

Rose felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. She quickly ran through to her closet and lifted a long coat and pulled it on. She ran past Grace who was still standing at the door and made her way to the lifts. Grace smiled to herself and started walking in the other direction, stopping when Jack came rushing through the door.

"Jack!" Grace cried, throwing her arms around him. Jack pulled her arms off him.

"I don't have time for this Grace. Do you know what's going on? We've hit an iceberg. I've been trying to get down here to tell Rose but I kept getting caught up with people on the way down." Jack spoke at like a hundred miles an hour.

"Well I think she's in her stateroom Jack." Grace lied. Her plan was working perfectly. Rose thought Jack was down in the lower decks, possibly trapped. Jack would get to his room and realise Rose wasn't there and would have no idea where she was. Hopefully Rose wouldn't be able to get back until it was too late, and by that time she would convince Jack that Rose was gone and that he needed to get on a lifeboat with her and save himself. Once they were together again, he could forget all about Rose and things could go back to how they were before she showed up and ruined this.

"Perfect." She said to herself, smiling and making her way to her cabin.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Rose?" Jack flung open the stateroom door and panicked when he couldn't see Rose. He rushed through all the rooms, checking the closet and out on the private promenade but she was nowhere in sight.

"Jack?" John appeared behind him. "What's going on?"

"I can't find Rose anywhere. We're sinking father, we've struck an iceberg." Jack told him.

"I know. I heard about it up on deck. It's alright though Jack, we'll get to a lifeboat." John made his way through to the closet and opened up the safe, stuffing some of his belongings in his coat pocket. He turned to see Jack looking at him. "What? We're not going to be much good when we get to New York with no money are we? Not until I can get to a bank."

"Father, don't you get it? Haven't you noticed when you've been walking about on deck?" Jack yelled.

"What?" John genuinely looked confused.

"There's nowhere near enough boats for everyone aboard." Jack told him.

John stared at him. "I guess they didn't think they needed too many since this was apparently an unsinkable ship." John closed the safe and pulled his coat on, lifting the life belts from the top of the cupboard. "Come on then, we better hurry."

"I need to find Rose. I don't know where she is." Jack took the lifebelt with him, intending on giving it to Rose.

"Right well we'll both find her. Do you have any idea where she might be?" John led him back out into the corridor.

"No." Jack sighed.

"Right, well you check the upper decks, I'll go down to her old cabin and check there. We don't have much time Jack, we're better splitting up and we'll cover more ground." John told him.

Jack nodded before turning and making his way up to the boat deck. John watched him go before turning and walking in the opposite direction, a sadness ripping through him as he realised that may be the last time he saw his son.

He quickly made his way down to the lower decks, checking his watch. It was now after 12.30pm and John could feel the floor was now at an angle indicating the ship was going down by the head. He was running towards the back of the ship and felt as though he was running uphill. John searched every room that he could get into, determined to find her. Having no luck at the stern of the ship, John made his way towards the bow, knowing full well that it would be well under water by now.

"Rose!" John yelled, as he made his way down the long corridor. His feet getting colder as he hit the water that had started to flow across the floor. "Rose!"

...

Jack meanwhile was running around the boat deck. He stopped at the gymnasium and opened the door. It was full of men, chatting and drinking. One of them handed Jack a flask, likely filled with brandy. Jack smiled and gratefully took it, knowing that the alcohol would help him ignore the cold. He handed it back to the man before leaving the gym and making his way back out into the cold night. Not being able to find her on the boat deck, he made his way downstairs to the A deck promenade and then to the cabins inside. He rushed past people standing around, resulting in him being called a few choice words. Jack didn't listen. These people clearly felt as though they had been greatly inconvenienced by having to come up to the upper decks. He continued to look in every area that he could, determined to make sure Rose got one a boat, with or without him.

...

"Mr Dawson?" Rose called. She was sure she could hear someone shouting her name. She thumped her fist on the door as she heard the voice again.

"Rose?" John stopped in his tracks as he heard the banging coming from behind him. He turned and ran back down the corridor, finally stopping at a closed door. "Rose? Are you in there?"

"Yes! The doors locked, I can't get out." Rose yelled.

"Stand back from the door Rose." John commanded, before throwing himself against the door in an effort to break the lock. When that didn't work, he stood back and lifted his foot, kicking the door hard. After a few more kicks, the door finally flew open. Rose ran out and fell straight into his arms.

"I didn't think I was ever going to get out." She said, shivering as the water continued to rise around their feet.

"How did you get locked in?" John asked, letting her go.

"I came down here because I thought Jack had come down here. I couldn't find him but when I got here, I thought I should try and make sure that my friends that I boarded with had managed to get away. I came back to my cabin and stupidly left the key in the lock. I went inside and that's when I heard a noise coming from the door. I thought it was one of them but when I turned around..." Rose's voice trailed off.

"What?" John stared at her.

"It was Grace. She had this horrible smile on her face and she pulled the door closed before I had a chance to get to it, locking me in." Rose cried. She knew that Grace wasn't happy about her and Jack but she didn't think she would stoop to the level of locking her in a sinking ship. She could have died if Jack's father hadn't found her.

"That little conniving..." John stopped himself, remembering who was in his presence. "Never mind, come on, this water's getting deeper, we need to get back up to the upper decks." John looked down at the water which was now above their knees. "Here." He said, taking off his coat after realising Rose was dressed in a fairly light outfit and although she had her coat on, it wasn't very thick. He put it over her shoulders, allowing her to slide her arms into the sleeves.

"Thank you." Rose smiled. "Where's Jack?"

"He's up on the upper decks searching for you."

Rose smiled at the thought of Jack being so worried about her. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and followed John towards the staircase, trying to ignore the coldness of the water as it continued to climb up her body.

"This is the way out." John said as he reached the end of the corridor which was now almost completely submerged in water. "I came down those stairs."

"Come on, there's another way out this way." Rose said, pulling him in the other direction. They ran along another corridor, trying to make their way back up to the decks when John stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"Can you hear that?" John turned around and walked down one of the adjoining passages. He stopped when he saw a young boy standing at the other end. He was up to his ankles in water and crying for his mother or father. John turned to look at Rose.

"We can't leave him." She said, confirming how he felt.

"Stay here. I'll go get him." John left her as he ran down the corridor to reach the boy. Rose watched him, wishing he would hurry. Her eyes flew to the door directly behind the little boy. It was bulging at the hinges and water was starting to pour from the tops of the door.

"John!" She yelled. "John! No! Come back!"

He heard her yelling but managed to grab the little boy and lift him up. He wrapped his arms around him and was about to run back when he heard the doors starting to creak. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out as the doors eventually gave way, sending a wall of water crashing down on them. Rose screamed as she saw the water coming rapidly towards her, knocking John off his feet. The water overpowered them and pulled them down the length of the ship. Realising she had no other option, Rose ran along the adjacent corridor as fast as her legs would take her, trying to outrun the approaching wave behind her. Eventually, the water overtook her, lifting her from her feet and dragging her along with it. She knew she had to somehow grab onto something until the passage was full otherwise it would pull her to her death. Her eyes flew against every little thing on the walls as she went shooting past them. Throwing her arms out, she grasped at anything that came into her reach when finally she managed to hold onto one of the light fittings on the wall. She looked around her quickly, trying to see where she was. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw a passage to a staircase just a few feet away. Rose dragged herself against the flow of the water, which was now up around her shoulders, before finally making the swim over to the stairs. She pulled herself up by the railings before finally reaching the top of the staircase. Once she got to the top, she gasped, feeling the relief of getting her feet out of the water, and tried to catch her breath. She knew she had to find Jack but she had no idea how to tell him about his father. She had no idea if he was still alive or where he was but she knew that there was no way she could have saved him from that flow of water. But she knew there was one good thing she could tell Jack. If his father had perished, he did so in the most heroic way. He had saved her from drowning and also had tried to save the little boy. Rose quickly said a prayer for him, hoping that by some miracle, he would be able to make it out.

...

"Mr Andrews!" Jack yelled as he came across the shipbuilder checking the rooms.

"Jack? What are you doing here? You need to get up to the boat deck." Mr Andrews kept checking the rooms as he walked.

"No, Mr Andrews, you don't understand. I can't find Rose anywhere. Have you seen her?" Jack grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

Mr Andrews shook his head. "Jack, you have to find her. There is only enough space on the lifeboats for less than half the people on this ship." He whispered. Jack nodded, understanding the seriousness of their situation. He turned and started to walk away from him when Mr Andrews shouted after him.

"Jack! Actually, I did see her, just after we hit."

Jack turned to him. "Where?"

"Miss Grace was talking to her, at her stateroom, and then a few minutes later, I saw her running from her room." That was all Jack needed to hear. He turned on his heel and ran towards the staircase to take him down to the lower decks, praying that he wasn't too late.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Jack continued to run down the stairs since the lifts were now out of use. He had been searching the upper decks for Rose whilst his father had gone down into the bowels of the ship and now his heart was racing with worry about the two of them. He knew the ship was slowly being pulled under the water down into the depths of the Atlantic and Jack had to battle a growing fear within him that he might be too late. Jack had noticed the time as he had ran past the grand staircase. It was now after 1am and Jack knew he didn't have long left. He ran through the winding corridors desperately searching for Rose and his father, trying to ignore the creaking noises as the ship moved further into the water.

"Rose!" Jack shouted down the decks, before rushing down another set of stairs. He stopped as he turned a corner and his feet met the freezing cold water. He looked further down and noticed that water had started to fill up the decks, the closer they were to the front of the ship. Jack turned around and ran back to the staircase that he had just come down. He searched around for another few minutes screaming Rose's name at the top of his voice.

"Jack!" Jack turned around, trying to work out where the sound had come from. He hoped that he hadn't imagined it.

"Rose?" He tried again.

"Jack!" the voice grew louder and came from a corridor about 20 metres away from him. He ran up towards it and came face to face with Rose. Jack gasped as she came straight to him, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight to him.

"Rose!" he sighed, burying his head in her hair. "I thought I'd lost you." He pulled her from him and held her face in his hands, before sliding them down to her arms and rubbing them. His eyes dropped from her face and down to her outfit.

"Is that my fathers jacket?" Jack asked.

Rose's eyes dropped to the floor.

"Rose?" he lifted her chin with his index finger, willing her to look at him.

She nodded slowly with a sadness in her eyes.

"Where is he?" Jack asked, worrying that he already knew the answer.

"I think he's gone." Rose finally said.

"You _think_ he's gone?" Jack stared at her, not understanding.

"He found me, locked in my cabin. We tried to get out but we found a little boy who was stuck with no one to look after him. Your father ran to him but the door burst open and he was overcome by the water. I couldn't catch him. I had to run or I would have been taken down too. I'm so sorry Jack. I should have done more to help him, but he saved me Jack. I would have still been locked in that room if it wasn't for him." Rose felt tears falling down her cheek as she thought about John. He had been so good to her.

"It's alright Rose. It's not your fault." Jack pulled her back to him, not allowing himself to cry. He couldn't believe his father might be gone, and all for him, all to make his son happy. "But how were you locked in your room?"

Rose looked back up at him. "Grace."

"What do you mean?" Jack stared at her. Somehow he knew that Grace had something to do with this.

"She told me you were down here so I came looking for you. I passed my cabin and wanted to make sure that everyone was away. That's when I heard a noise behind me. I turned and she was standing at the door, she pulled it closed, locking me in. I stupidly left the key in the door." Rose confessed.

Jack pulled her back to him, anger raging through him that because of Grace, he had probably lost his father and he could have lost Rose as well. He snapped out of his rage, checked his watch and grabbed her hand. It was now half past 1 and Jack knew that they didn't have a lot of time left. "Come on Rose, we don't have much time. They're starting to lower the life boats so I need to get you to the boat deck." He pulled her towards the winding corridors back the way he came and up the stair cases until they made it to the upper decks. They ran through the first class smoking room to try and get to the boat deck.

"Wait." Rose let go of Jack's hand as she suddenly stopped running. She stared at Mr Andrews standing next to the large fire place staring into space. "Mr Andrews." She said, causing him to turn to her. "Won't you even make a try for it?"

He stares at her, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I'm sorry I didn't build you a stronger ship, young Rose. It's been a pleasure to see you again."

Jack looked over the sad scene in front of him, not sure what to do. He suddenly felt the ship shudder beneath his feet. "It's going fast. We've got to keep moving." He said, interrupting them.

Mr Andrews moved across to a table behind him and picked up his life belt. "Good luck to you Rose."

She closed the gap between them, taking the life jacket from him and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "And to you." Rose took Jack's hand and allowed him to pull her through the revolving door, sad to leave him behind.

They finally burst through a door onto the boat deck and survey the scene around them. The bow is completely submerged under water and the ship was slowly moving up into an angle, the stern starting to rise from the water.

"Come on, we need to find you a boat Rose." Jack grabbed her hand before she could respond and pulled her along the deck before finally coming across a lifeboat.

"Women and children only please!" Officer Lightoller shouts to the crowd standing behind him, waiting to gain entry to their salvation.

"I'm not going without you." Rose turned to face Jack.

"Get in the boat Rose." Jack ordered. "Go on, I'll get the next one."

"No, not without you." She replied, stubbornly.

"I've heard there's a boat on the other side letting men on. I'll be fine. Now hurry, it's almost full." Jack insisted.

Before Rose had a chance to respond, she felt a grip on her arm and Lightoller pulling her towards the boat. Rose reached out to grab Jack's hand, merely brushing it for a second before she found herself stepping into the boat and sitting down. She stared up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks as he held onto the side of the ship, his eyes never leaving her.

"Lower away!" Lightoller shouted and Rose jumped as the boat was realised from its chains, slowly making it's way down the side of the ship. She looked around her at the crying children in the boat waving up at their fathers, the seamen instructing the lowering of the boat but she hears nothing, except for the blood pounding in her ears. She looks back up at Jack and can't believe the pain she is feeling. Suddenly a rocket goes off and shoots off into the air. The white light from it surrounds jack in a halo of light and in that moment, Rose can see the pain in his eyes, tears falling from his eyes and his throat moving as he struggles to swallow. Suddenly she is moving. She climbs across the woman sitting beside her and clambers to the edge of the lifeboat before finally throwing herself from it, grasping onto the A deck railing.

"Rose! NO!" Jack screamed, throwing his arm down to her before turning on his heel and running towards the stairs to take him down to her. He ran down the grand staircase, his eyes frantically searching for her until they finally landed on that brilliant red hair. Jack ran to her, pulling her to him. She was shaking and crying into his shoulder. He kissed her all over her face.

"You're so stupid Rose. Why did you do that? Why?" Jack begged her to tell him.

"I couldn't go Jack. I couldn't leave you." She pressed her fingers to his cheeks and he gave her a weak smile, not quite believing that she was willing to die for him. Jack looked up the staircase to the clock, Honor and Glory crowning time. It was now after 2am and Jack was well aware that it was likely there were no longer any lifeboats left.

"We have to stay on the ship as long as possible Rose." Jack told her, pulling her towards the stern of the ship. She allowed herself to follow him, trusting his judgement. They run along the deck, pushing through the panicked crowd before slowing behind a man walking slowly in front of them.

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." he mumbled.

"You wanna walk a little faster to that valley there fella?" Jack said, trying to hurry him along, attempting to run up the ever increasing angle of the deck. Finally they made it to the railings which separated them from the freezing water. Rose held tightly onto Jack and turned quickly as she heard something snapping behind her. She stared in horror as the cables which held onto the funnels rip from the top of them with such strength that it would have ripped a person in half. A loud creaking noise surrounded the entire ship and people watched as the funnel slowly split from the deck of the ship, sending it careering into the water, causing everyone in its path to disappear. Rose turned her head back to Jack, burying it in his shirt, unable to watch. Jack stared over the railing as he felt the stern being lifted from the water. He gasped as the massive bronze propellers appeared from under the ocean. The lights around them flicker, threatening to go out and anything that wasn't bolted down to the deck, starts to slide as the stern rises further from the water. Rose looks around her, at the faces of the doomed, and watched as people lost their grip and slid down the full length of the deck before hitting railings or landing in the freezing water. Eventually the lights flicker once more and go out, sending them into darkness. Rose looked behind Jack and could see that they were easily over one hundred feet in the air. She looked up at the sky which seemed so close that she thought she could reach up and touch the stars. Suddenly a dreadful noise comes from the middle of the ship and people scream as they see the deck slowly start to split. The crack spreads right across the width of the ship and down the sides right down to the keel. Eventually the ship completely splits in half, causing the stern to fall back to the water. Rose clung on for dear life to the railing with Jack lying across her back. They hit the water with a huge splash, no doubt killing all those people who had been in the water beneath after jumping from the stricken ship.

"We're saved!" people started shouting, believing that the stern section would be able to float but Jack shook his head at Rose. He knew this wasn't over yet and no soon had he done that, that the bow section of the ship started to pull the stern back vertical. People began screaming again as realisation hit them that they weren't safe yet. The stern was pulled up rapidly and Jack knew they couldn't stay where they were.

"Come on! We have to move!" Jack jumped from behind Rose and climbed over the railing. He pulled Rose's hand, hauling her over the other side to join him. They lay on the railing facing the water as it started to swallow the ship. "The ship is going to suck us down. Take a deep breath when I say. Kick for the surface and keep kicking. Do not let go of my hand." He told her, talking rapidly.

Rose nodded, indicating she understood him. Suddenly they were only a few feet away from the foaming water.

"This is it!" Jack shouted. "Now!"

Rose took as deep a breath as she could and gripped onto Jack's hand as they disappeared under the water.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Jack tried to scream out as the water hit him like knives, stabbing him all over his body. His clothes offered little protection against it and the pain was overwhelming. He clung onto Rose's hand with all his might but the forceful vortex pulled him down towards the ocean floor, proving too strong for him and suddenly his grip was holding onto freezing liquid only. He waved his arms around, trying to find Rose but she was gone. He couldn't open his eyes as the salt water stung them so he forced his other senses to heighten. Eventually Jack's survival instincts kicked in and he struggled to the surface, finally taking a deep breath in as his face hit the cold air. His head turned quickly from side to side, trying to find Rose.

"Rose!" he yelled, trying to make his voice grow louder than all the screaming and crying surrounding him. "Rose!"

"Jack!" Jack quickly turned around to the voice. His eyes scanned the water trying to see where it came from. "Jack!" The voice became muffled and Jack finally spotted Rose struggling in the water with a large man holding her down, pushing her head under the water, trying to use her as a float. Jack's eyes widened as he quickly swam towards her.

"Get off her!" he yelled, trying to pull the man from her. He stared right through him, clearly not understanding. Jack knew he didn't have a lot of time left. He pulled his fist back and with all his strength, he threw it into the man's face, forcing him off her. He knew that this man would probably die now but Jack knew that he had to save Rose. He pulled her up, grabbing onto the underside of her arm.

"Swim Rose. I need you to swim!" he shouted, pulling her away from the crowds. She allowed him to pull her, trying to kick her legs but they were growing colder by the second and she was finding it more and more difficult. Eventually they stopped when Jack came across a large piece of wood floating on the surface. Jack looked it over. It was a door from one of the first class corridors and it looked sturdy enough.

"Come on Rose. You need to get on this and out of the water." Jack helped her up onto the door, pushing her legs out of the freezing water.

"Come on Jack. There's room for you too." Rose whispered.

"No, there's no way I'll fit on there." Jack insisted. He couldn't risk trying to get on the door and causing it to break. His eyes scanned about the water around him, trying to find something else he could use. He knew he wouldn't survive long in this water and part of him felt like laughing. All of these class wars meant absolutely nothing when it came down to it. Being rich didn't give you the right to survive over anyone else. Jack's eyes finally rested on a deck chair floating a few metres away.

"I'll be right back." He said to Rose before swimming away.

"Jack!" Rose tried to shout after him. She watched him intently until she realised what he was doing. He swam back, gripping onto the chair before finally getting back to Rose. He climbed onto the chair and laid across it, trying to keep as much of his body out of the water. He gripped onto Rose's hand and held them tightly, blowing onto her fingers, trying to keep them warm. He turned his head slightly as he heard a loud shrill noise coming from a few feet away.

"Return...the boats!" Officer Wilde shouted, blowing onto a whistle.

"See, the boats are coming back for us Rose. They just had to row away from the suction but they'll be back." Jack assured her.

"Thank God for you Jack." Rose whispered. Her teeth were chattering uncontrollably.

Jack looked around, trying to see if the boats were coming through the darkness.

"It's getting quiet." Rose said, her head laying across the door.

"It's just going to take a few minutes..." Jack said, his voice wobbly. "To get the boats organised. I don't know about you, but I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the white star line about all this."

Rose didn't move. At the back of her mind, she believed that she and Jack would die out there. Die in the cold but at least they were together. She turned her head slightly and looked past Jack, now seeing that Officer Wilde had gone quiet. He looked as though he was asleep but Rose knew the truth. She quietly said a prayer from him before finding Jack's eyes under the moonlight.

"I love you Jack." She whispered.

"Don't you do that." He said sternly. "Don't you say your goodbyes. Not yet, do you understand me?"

"I'm so cold." She would have cried if it had been possible.

Jack couldn't allow her to give up. She was strong and she had to survive this, even if he didn't. "Rose, you're gonna get out of this. You're gonna go on and you're gonna make lots of babies and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old lady, warm in her bed. Not here. Not this night. Not like this. Do you understand me?"

"I can't feel my body." She whimpered.

"Listen Rose, getting on that boat was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you. And I'm thankful Rose. I'm thankful." He gripped onto her hand as tightly as he could but he was struggling to speak and he could feel his breath growing shorter. "You must do me this honour. Promise me that you'll survive, that you won't give up. No matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now Rose, and never let go of that promise." He leaned forward and kissed her knuckles.

"I promise." She finally told him. "I'll never let go Jack. I'll never let go."

She pressed her forehead to his and closed her eyes as their surroundings grew eerily quiet, except for the lapping of the water around them.

Eventually after a while, Jack felt a light landing over his face. He tried to make his body work and open his eyes to see where the offending light was coming from. Turning his head slightly, he could see the light moving in the distance and as his eyes begun to focus, he could see the shape of a man behind the light. _A boat._

"Rose." He whispered, shaking her hand slightly. She never moved. "Rose."

Eventually, she murmured and her head turned towards him. Jack sighed as he realised he had been holding his breath while willing her to wake up.

"Rose, there's a boat. We need to get their attention." Jack looked around, trying to see something he could use. His eyes finally rested on Officer Wilde who was still lying in the water with his mouth wrapped around a little silver whistle. Jack tried to pry his hand from Rose's which were almost frozen together before rolling himself off the deck chair that he had been lying on, his body tensing up as it hit the freezing water. He forced himself past the pain and tried to swim across to wear the officer was floating. Grabbing the whistle from his mouth, he put it to his lips and blew as hard as he could.

"Turn about!" the figure in the distance yells.

Jack keeps the whistle in his mouth and continues to blow on it as he swims back to Rose, continuing to do so until the boat finally reaches them. Rose feels strong arms grip onto her as she is hauled from the freezing water and into a boat. She sat in a daze as she felt warm blankets surround her and she gripped onto them, pulling them closer to her chest. Her eyes suddenly flew open as she searched the boat for Jack. But he was no where to be seen.

"Jack." She whispered, barely audible. "Jack!" she said a bit louder.

"Miss? Are you alright?" The man with the torch asked.

"No, where's Jack?" there was now an urgency in her voice.

"Who? Was there someone else with you?" he asked.

Rose nodded. "He was blowing on the whistle."

The man looked around the side of the boat, but all the people that were there had clearly gone. "There's no one alive here Miss, I'm sorry."

"No, he was alive. Just a second ago, he was alive." Rose insisted. "You have to find him!"

...

Jack threw open his eyes. He was surrounded by water and felt as though as he was sinking. He looked up and could see the surface above him. Realising that he was going to drown if he didn't start moving, he kicked his legs as much as he could, flailing his arms around, forcing his way up to the night sky. He gasped for breath as he finally made contact with the cold air, his arms splashing around.

"Jack!" he turned around quickly, trying to hear where the voice was coming from. He knew it belonged to his Rose, and he refused to be separated from her.

"Jack! Please sir, you must go back for him." Rose begged the officer in her boat.

"Of course Miss, come on men, we have to go back." They had only rowed a few feet when Jack had appeared back on the surface so it didn't take long for them to get back to him. As they pulled up alongside him, two other men in the boat leaned over and grabbed onto his arms, hauling him into the boat and covering him in blankets.

"I'm Officer Lowe Sir." The officer said, noticing Jack's attire. "We'll have you safe in no time."

"Jack!" Rose said with relief as she pulled him to her, rubbing her hands up his arms in a desperate attempt to heat him up.

"Ro..o..se." Jack chattered as he rested his head on his shoulder, eventually falling asleep from exhaustion.

...

Rose slowly opened her eyes, trying to take in her surroundings. The sunlight hit her face and she realised it was morning. She looked up and saw something which she would happily never see again. A ship. Her eyes focused as she read the name across the side. The Carpathia, this was the ship Officer Lowe told her they would be getting on. She shook Jack's shoulder , trying to wake him.

"Jack, look." She said, gripping onto his hand.

Jack slowly opened his eyes, slowly moving them around. First to the boat he was sitting in, then up to the large ship beside him and finally they fell to Rose's face. Even with the ice attached to her hair and her outfit being ruined, Jack smiled as he took her in. She was just as beautiful as she always had been.

"I love you Rose. I'm sorry I never told you that earlier." Jack said, gripping onto her hand. Rose smiled, kissing his forehead.

"Okay everyone, they're going to throw down the ropes so we can get you all up on deck. Now will you all be able to get up yourselves or do you need assistance?" Officer Lowe looked around the 6 survivors in the boats. Tug strings pulled at his heart and he held back tears after thinking about all the lost souls he had seen in the water the previous night. They had waited too long to go back and he couldn't even put a number on the amount of people who had succumbed to the Atlantic's brutality.

"We'll be fine." Rose said.

Officer Lowe nodded, before signalling to the officers up on deck to throw down the ropes and then proceeded to help each of the survivors to climb up the ropes. Rose pulled herself over the deck, hauling herself across the deck before finally standing up, still clinging onto the blanket that was wrapped around her. She turned around to see Jack trying to pull himself over. She rushed to him, grabbing onto his arm and helping him to his feet. He smiled weakly as he wrapped his arms around her, finally feeling close to her after their ordeal.

A woman clearing her throat broke them apart. Jack and Rose turned to see an older woman standing behind them. She was dressed in a nurses outfit and smiled at them, understanding their happiness at still having each other.

"Please excuse me, but you should both come to the infirmary to get checked over. You have been in that water for some time." She smiled.

Jack nodded and took Rose's hand, leading her in the direction the woman was taking them before finally getting inside the infirmary. They sat down in the chairs that lined the walls, many of them already occupied. Jack gripped onto Rose's hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles before standing when the nurse called him and following her into another room. Another nurse came and tended to Rose before finally allowing her to go on the instruction that she went to the dining room and got some hot soup.

"But Jack?" she asked the nurse.

"He'll be out soon enough. We'll send him up to you." The nurse smiled before escorting another passenger into the room. Rose nodded and left the room, making her way up to the above levels.

Jack gasped with pain as the doctor looked over him. His limbs were aching and each time the doctor tried to move his legs or arms, he cried out in pain. After the doctor gave him a full check up, he finally allowed him to go, certain that he had no long lasting damage.

"Jack!" a voice came from behind him as he stepped out onto the deck. He sighed as he saw Grace running towards him. "Oh Jack! I'm so glad you're safe!" she threw her arms around him, clinging onto him.

Jack winced as pain ripped through him. "Grace, please get off me." He said, pushing her off him.

"Oh I'm sorry Jack, you're in pain. Please let me help you. You're all alone, I can't leave you like this." Grace insisted, pleased that it seemed as though Rose hadn't survived. She was probably still lying in that room she had locked her in. Grace had ran straight back up to the decks and gotten on the first life boat after that, determined that she would find Jack when they got to safety. Part of her was worried that Jack wouldn't have been able to get to a boat and wouldn't have survived but here he was in front of her and now they could get on with their life and pretend none of this had happened.

Jack's eyes widened with anger. "I never want to see you again." He hissed. "Now get out of my way." Jack pushed past her, almost causing her to fall down.

"Jack!" she ran after him, grabbing onto his arm.

He shook it from him. "You think Rose is dead? She's not dead. She here and we're going to be together. But no thanks to you. That little stunt you pulled cost my father his life." He yelled at her, causing those around them to look up.

"What?" Grace looked at him, unsure of what he was talking about.

"You locked Rose in that cabin and left her to die." Jack raged. "Don't try and deny it. My father went down to find her and ended up getting swept away by the water. He's dead Grace. Dead. And it's all down to you. Now get out my way. When we get back to Wisconsin, you can send someone to get your things from my house but don't dare come near there yourself." Jack stalked off, leaving Grace standing there with tears rolling down her cheeks, the realisation of her actions finally hitting her.

"Rose!" Jack shouted as he made his way into the dining room, sitting down at the table Rose was at.

"Jack, darling. You must eat something." Rose stood to get Jack a bowl of soup but he pulled her back down, taking her in his arms, finally allowing the tears that had been threatening to fall down his cheek. "Jack, are you alright?"

"My father." He whispered. Rose smiled, realising that after all the commotion Jack had remembered that he had lost his father. She held him to her and rubbed his back, trying to soothe him, knowing that Jack was well aware that his life would never been the same again.

...

After a few days, word was spreading around the deck that the Carpathia would finally be arriving in New York. Jack and Rose had seen Grace wandering around the boat on several occasions and even though she hadn't made eye contact with Jack, she had made daggers at Rose. Angry that she had taken her place in Jack's life. She vowed this wasn't over.

On the day they were due to arrive, Rose and Jack made their way up the deck as they watched the ship pull into pier 34. Rose still had Jack's father's jacket wrapped around her. In a way she didn't want to let it go as it was the only thing they had of him right now. She rested her head on Jack's shoulder and pushed her hands into the pockets, trying to heat them up. Her eyes opened quickly and she stepped away from Jack. He watched her with curiosity, wondering what she was doing. Rose pulled her hands from her pockets and Jack's eyes widened with amazement before he started laughing. Rose held in her hands hundreds of pounds from his fathers pockets.

"He was running around the room getting notes before we left to look for you. He said we'd need it for when we arrived in New York until he got to a bank." Jack laughed.

Rose smiled and placed the notes back in her pocket before pulling Jack's arms around her.

"Can I take you names please?" an officer stood beside them with a clipboard, taking the names of survivors.

"Jack Dawson." Jack answered quickly. His eyes quickly went from the officer to Rose."

"Rose." She answered.

"Rose...?" the officer asked.

"Isn't it clear? Dawson." She gripped Jack's hands tightly as the officer nodded and walked off.

Jack spun her around to face him. "Dawson?" he asked, laughing.

"If that's alright with you." Rose smiled.

Jack laughed and pulled her to him, wrapping her up in a hug.

...

Eventually the Carpathia docked in the pier and passengers were finally able to disembark. They had been told by officers that there were several hotels nearby taking in passengers so Rose and Jack made their way from the ship. Being in the first class area, they left first, not noticing Grace only a few feet behind them, following their every move. They struggled through the crowds of reporters and people waiting to see if their loved ones were among the survivors.

"Rose!" a man shouted from the crowd. Rose's ears pricked up as she heard the voice. _No, it couldn't be._ Jack followed her gaze as they darted around the crowd before finally resting on a tall man with dark hair. He was dressed in a well cut suit and had a cane in his hand.

Rose stopped in her tracks causing people behind her to curse as they walked into her. Jack stared at her, his eyes then moving to the man in front of them. A woman was standing behind him. Her red hair was pinned up on the top of her head and she was dressed in a warm coat. The colour had drained from Rose's face as she studied the two people in front of her.

"Cal. Mother." Rose finally said.

Jack gripped onto her hand tighter, knowing how much she didn't want to see these people. Behind him stood Grace, a smile creeping over her face as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Rose?" Jack's voice broke her from her trance, his hand moving to the small of her back, offering brief protection.

"Rose!" Ruth shouted, rushing to her, enveloping Rose in her arms and holding her tight.

"How did you know I was here?" Rose finally asked, unsure of what to do.

Ruth placed her hands on Rose's shoulders, pushing her gently away from her. "We received a wireless from a young lady travelling with the Dawsons. She told us you were coming back to America on the Titanic and wanted to make amends." Ruth hugged her again. "Oh Rose, I'm so glad you have finally seen sense and you're safe!"

Ruth slipped her hand through Rose's arm and gently started walking her away from Jack. "Now Rose, we can stay in New York for a couple of nights. We'll need to buy you some new clothes. Speaking of clothes..." Ruth glanced down at the intricate dress that clung to Rose's bare skin. "Where did you get this?"

Rose looked down at her outfit. It was one of the dresses that Molly had given her. Rose stopped in her tracks. "Molly!" She turned to Jack. "Have you seen her?"

Jack shook his head. "I haven't seen her all night. But don't worry Rose, she'll be fine. I'm sure of it." Jack placed his hand on her back.

Ruth studied the closeness between the two. "Mr Dawson, I thank you for looking after my daughter but I must insist now that she comes home with me. Come on Rose, Mr Hockley is waiting for you." She pulled Rose from Jack, leading her towards Cal who was standing waiting on them, taking a long drag of his cigarette. Rose finally met his gaze and shuddered as she felt the coldness rip through him. He had never forgiven her for running out on their wedding.

Jack stared after her. He wanted to run to her and take her away from them. After all they had been through these last few days, he couldn't lose her now. He'd already lost his father and it was all because of Grace.

_Grace._ Suddenly Ruth's words struck home to him. A young lady travelling with the Dawson's? Told them that Rose would be here? Grace done this. She brought them here. She clearly couldn't stand the thought of Rose being with him that she contacted her mother to take her away. Grace must have done this. But when? Jack quickly thought back to the day Rose was introduced to his father. They had been talking about how Rose had run out on her family and they heard that smash coming from the sitting room. Grace had been there, eavesdropping. She must have heard everything.

"No!" Jack heard himself shout. Rose turned quickly to face Jack. Her eyes were begging him to take her away.

"Mr Dawson?" Ruth stared at him. "Why are you making a scene?"

"Rose isn't going back with you." Jack walked to them and took Rose's hand.

"What are you saying? Why not?" Ruth's eyes darted from one to the other. Cal was now standing behind her.

"What is going on Ruth? You told me Rose had changed her mind. I don't appreciate getting messed about like this." Cal raged.

"She has Mr Hockley. Just give us a minute. Rose? What is going on? You are coming back to Philadelphia with us." Ruth's eyes were widening.

"Mrs DeWitt Bukater!" Jack turned as he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He felt rage build up inside him as he saw Grace appearing from through the crowds.

Ruth looked the girl up and down, unsure of who she was. "I'm Grace." She confirmed for her. "I sent you the telegram."

"Ah! Thank you dear for reuniting me with my daughter. Now we can get her home to Philadelphia where she can finally move on with her life and wed Mr Hockley." Ruth smiled.

Grace smirked as she watched the limited colour drain from Rose's face. She turned to Jack who was now staring at her. Anger took over his emotions and he felt as though he had to restrain himself from doing something he'd regret.

"Absolutely. That's wonderful news Rose. You can go back to where you belong now." She grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Now come along Jack. We have arrangements to make. Unfortunately, Mr Dawson Senior didn't survive." Grace told them, looking down to the ground solemnly.

Rose felt rage building up inside her. This girl hadn't cared less about Jack's father but here she was acting like this.

"Oh well I am incredibly sorry to hear that Mr Dawson. Please accept my condolences." Ruth offered. Jack nodded gratefully.

"Now come Rose, we must hurry." Ruth grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her forcibly towards Cal and towards the waiting car. Jack stood back, unable to move. He felt completely frozen to the spot as he watched her disappear from his sight and through the river of people.

"Right, come on Jack." Grace grabbed his arm, slipping her hand through. "We must start making plans for getting back to Wisconsin."

Jack felt his feet moving from under him. He allowed himself to be dragged through the crowds by Grace, not truly understanding exactly what was going on. He felt as though he was still in shock. He had been through an incredible ordeal. He had lost his father and now Rose had been taken from him and yet here he was, allowing himself to be led further away by a woman that he had begun to despise. A woman that had done everything she possibly could have done to destroy his relationship with Rose. A woman who had caused the death of his father. And now he would have to go back to Wisconsin and pick up the pieces and with her? He couldn't possibly do this. Suddenly he felt himself stop. Grace turned to him, watching him intently.

"What's wrong Jack? Come on, we must be going." Grace grabbed his hand. He shook it from her, pulling it away as if she had scalded him.

"Goodbye Grace." Jack stared at her. "Be sure to get your things from my home. You are no longer welcome there."

"Don't be silly Jack. You're in shock. Come on." Grace tried to grasp his hand again but he refused it. He stepped back from her before turning away and rushing through the crowd towards the direction that Rose had been taken in.

"Rose!" he shouted after her. He watched her get into the car with Cal getting in behind her. "Rose!" Jack ran as quickly as his legs would allow him to go but he wasn't quick enough. The car pulled away and disappeared down the street, leaving him lying in its wake.

"Come on Jack. She's made her choice, let's go." Grace appeared beside him.

"No! Why are you not getting this? She didn't make this choice! You made it for her by contacting her mother. I've told you to stay away from me. I need to go and deal with my father's business and his affairs. Arrange for your things to be collected from the house Grace. But I will get Rose back, mark my words." Jack spat, quickly walking away from her.

Meanwhile, Rose was staring out of the window of the car. She was sitting between her mother and Cal and whilst Ruth chattered constantly about her plans for Rose when they arrived home, Cal offered no words. He stared out the window, refusing to meet Rose's gaze. Rose sighed as she fidgeted in the damp coat that covered her shoulders. Remembering that this was John's coat, she placed her hand in one of the pockets and fingered the notes that had been pushed inside. Smiling to herself she saw her way out. All she had to do was sneak out of the hotel that they were going to. She had enough money to travel to Wisconsin and she would find Jack. Eventually they pulled up outside a huge building and Cal stepped out of the car, holding his hand out to allow Rose to step out. She gave him a weak smile, taking his hand. He was a good man and she felt a pain in her heart after what she had done to him. He hadn't deserved her running out on him but she knew she couldn't have married him. And even now she couldn't allow herself to be sucked back into this way of life. Looking at Cal as he helped her from the car, she knew that he didn't want to marry her either but she knew that he would be well aware how good a set up it would be. Ruth led Rose to her room and left her to change. She had sent her maid out to pick out some outfits for Rose and some other bits and pieces that she may need. Rose stood in the huge room staring at her surroundings. She thought the Titanic interior was stylish and classy but this was nothing like she had ever seen before. She opened up her closet and gasped as she stared at all the beautiful dresses that were hung up. Taking the coat from her shoulders, she started to look through the outfits as she dropped the coat on the floor. She turned as she heard a loud thud as the coat hit the floor. Knowing it couldn't have been the money, she was curious and picked the coat up, taking it over to the bed. She fingered through the pockets but couldn't find anything which would have made such a noise. She ran her hands up and down the length of the coat until she finally felt something heavy. She placed her hand back in the coat pocket and traced her fingers over the living until she realised there was a hole. She opened it up, allowing her hand to get through it and pushed her hand right down to the bottom of the coat. She let out a gasp as she finally rested on the item. Pulling it up, she knew exactly what it was before she saw it. She dropped the coat to the floor as the brilliant blue diamond glistened under the lights of her room. The Heart of the Ocean. John must have found it. Jack had insisted she put it in his safe in case it went missing. John must have seen it there and knew it belonged to Rose. She smiled as she thought of him, part of her wishing he had survived. He had been so good to her and it was clear where Jack got most of his personality from. They had been so similar. Rose felt a tear drop down her cheek as she thought of Jack. She couldn't wait to see him again although part of her worried if he had gone back to Grace. She was suddenly startled but a soft knock at the door. Rose quickly pushed the diamond back into her coat and pushed it into the closet before getting up and opening the door.

"Cal?" Rose was surprised to see him.

"Good evening Rose." Cal smiled. "I wondered if I could speak with you?"

Rose nodded and opened the door, allowing him to come in.

"You haven't dressed yet?" Cal pointed out.

Rose looked down. She was still dressed in one of the outfits that Molly had given her. "Can you excuse me for a few minutes? I'll just get changed."

Cal nodded and sat down in one of the chairs whilst Rose disappeared into the bathroom to change. She came back out around ten minutes later with her hair tied up and dressed in one of the plainer dresses that she had.

"Much better." Cal smiled. "You must have been cold in that dress."

Rose agreed before sitting down in the opposite chair. "What can I do for you Cal?"

"I need to understand what happened to us Rose. You ran out on me and I still have no idea why." Cal admitted.

Rose looked down. She had known that should she ever see Cal again that he would want an answer to this. They sat for some time discussing what had went wrong and how Rose had felt at the time. He nodded as he listened to her, understanding everything that she was saying.

"Thank you Rose. Your mother wanted me to come here because she still has it in her head that we would be good together. Clearly, we both want different things. And from what you've told me about Dawson, he seems like a good match from you. I think I will have met him or at least his father before but I can't be sure. II came here tonight because I thought it important that we clear the air. I know you don't want to be here Rose so I've arranged some transportation for you. I'm assuming that will be Wisconsin?" Cal raised his eyebrow.

"Are you serious? You're letting me go?" Rose was shocked but unsure if this was a trick.

"Letting you go? You're not my prisoner Rose. Look, I have someone back in Philadelphia that I'm thinking of marrying but I wanted to make sure that there was nothing between us." Cal admitted. "And now we're clear on that, I can arrange the travel for you. I'll get you a trunk to put your things in. And here..." Cal pulled his billfold from his inside pocket and opened it. He handed her several large notes, pushing them into her hands.

"Cal, I can't take this." Rose tried to hand it back to him.

"Yes, you can Rose. You'll need some money to get yourself sorted before you get to Jack." Cal insisted. "Please, I won't miss it."

Rose smiled. "Thank you Cal. What about my mother though?"

"She's asleep I think. Get your things together. Get dressed into something more appropriate and my car can take you to the station." Cal stood. "I'll have a trunk sent up to your room. Don't worry about your mother."

Rose suddenly couldn't help herself. She walked towards him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pulling him to her. "Thank you Cal."

He pulled away from her and smiled. "Good luck to you Rose."

"And to you. I hope everything works out for you and that I'll see an engagement announcement for you soon enough." Rose smiled, watching him disappear out of the room. She quickly disappeared into the bathroom and got dressed. She pulled out a new coat that had been hanging up and put it on. Glancing around the room, she noticed a trunk lying beside the door which must have been delivered whilst she was in the bathroom. She pulled the clothes and shoes from the closet and put them inside before grabbing a few towels from the bathroom and placing them over the clothes to protect them. After this, she took the money and necklace from John's coat and put them in her purse and then placed the coat inside. She couldn't leave it behind. Rose opened the door to see a young man standing outside.

"Mr Hockley asked me to wait here for you to escort you to the car." The man said.

"Thank you. I only have this trunk." Rose pointed it behind her and buttoned up her coat.

"Very well Miss." He grabbed the trunk and lifted it up before closing the door behind him and walked towards the elevator with Rose following him. They made it out to the car and Rose climbed inside.

"Mr Hockley asked me to let you know that he has sent for someone to meet you at the station in Wisconsin. They will then drive you to the Dawson's estate." The man smiled, tapping his finger on his nose. "Mum's the word." He winked.

Rose laughed. "Thank you Sir." She took a twenty dollar note from her purse and handed it to him. "Please pass on my thanks to Mr Hockley."

He nodded and closed the door and stepped back. Rose stared up at the hotel as she felt the car pull away, smiling at the thought of getting closer to her Jack.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Jack stared out the window as he felt the car pull into the long road which took him up to his home. The road was bumpy and quickly pulled him out of his dream like state. He couldn't focus on anything. Glancing round to the empty seat beside him, he felt a pain in his heart like no other. Grace had hauled him from the crowds and to the waiting car before he even had a chance to check if his father had survived or not. He remembered what Rose had told him but surely there could still be some hope that he may have got out. Jack could only cling to that hope, it was the only thing keeping him going. Rose had been taken from him and he wouldn't be entirely surprised if he never saw her again. Or at least if he did, she would probably be back on Cal's arm. Jack couldn't believe how much his life had changed in just a few short days. It wasn't fair. He glanced up to the other side of the car and his whole body shuddered as he saw Grace staring at him. She just couldn't take no for an answer, she was praying on him whilst he was at his most vulnerable, knowing that he would probably need help to deal with things. But Jack had lawyers, plenty of lawyers that could help but she had insisted. He just couldn't get rid of her.

"Darling? We're home." She said softly, leaning over to touch his hand.

"This isn't your home Grace." He spat, pushing open the door and storming past the driver.

"Jack!" she called after him but he refused to stop. He walked into the house and straight up the staircase to his room. Jack finally stopped once he reached his bedroom and without thinking about it, he fell onto the bed, tears rolling down his cheeks. He finally let go of all the emotion he had been holding in since the sinking a few days before.

"Jack?" Grace whispered at the door. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to open up to her, take comfort in the support she was offering him, not shutting him out. "Jack?"

"Go away Grace." He said between sobs.

Grace slowly opened the door and gasped as she saw him lying across the bed. She walked towards the bed and sat down, resting her hand on his back. "Jack? Talk to me."

Jack could feel the anger building up inside him. He jumped from the bed as soon as her hand rested on him. "Get out Grace!" he yelled at the top of his voice. "Get your things, get out my house, get out my life! I never want to see you again! Are you stupid? Do you not get this? You've ruined my life. You've killed my father, you've drove away the only woman I have genuinely loved and you think I'm going to sit here and play happy families with you? You're delusional."

Grace's eyes widened. She had never seen him so angry. "But Jack..." she reached forward to touch his arm but Jack quickly pushed it away with such a force that it caused her to fall backwards.

Normally Jack would have felt extremely guilty for causing her to fall backwards like that but at this moment, he couldn't care.

"Jack!" Grace suddenly leapt to her feet. "You're going to regret that! Mark my words. Don't worry I'll get out of your house but this isn't the last you'll see of me. I promise you that." Grace turned on her heel and stormed off down the hall to the room she had occupied for the last few months to collect her belongings. She shouted down to her maid who was standing outside her room that she would need a car to take her into town. The woman nodded and quickly rushed down the stairs to arrange it.

Jack stood for a few seconds, trying to catch his breath. He turned towards the window and looked down into the gardens where the car they had travelled in was currently being emptied to take Grace into town. No doubt she would go to the train station to go back to her family. Jack stood for a while longer as she finally appeared next to the car. She turned to look up at his window and saw Jack standing there. Grace returned his look with a cold stare, further emphasising her threat that she would be back. Finally she broke the intensity between them and climbed into the car. Jack watched after her as the car eventually disappeared from sight. He finally let go of the breath he had been holding and sat down in one of the large armchairs next to the window. Jack looked up as a knock came to the door.

"Come in." He said softly.

"Sir?" a young woman appeared at the door.

"Yes Mary?" Jack beckoned her inside. She was a young maid that his father had hired before they had left for England.

"I have your clothes here. The ones you had one when..." her voice trailed off.

Jack looked up at her. "I understand. Just leave them on the bed. I'll see to them."

Mary nodded. She lay the suit and coat down on the bed, curtseyed and disappeared out of the room, closing the door behind her. Jack eventually stood up and walked across to the bed, lifting up the coat. He placed his hand inside the pockets to check for anything that he had left. He felt something in the inside pocket so placed his hand inside and lifted the items out. The empty flask that he usually drank from, a soggy packet of cigarettes and a piece of paper. Jack smiled to himself. Before opening up the paper, he knew exactly what it was. He unfolded it slowly, concerned that the water will have damaged it. As it opened up, his heart started racing as he saw the image appear before him, almost good as new with only a few water stains. Luckily it had been held between the flask and cigarettes which seemed to have taken the impact of the water. His eyes stared over the picture, taking in all of Rose's beauty which he had captured on the paper that fateful night. At least he had something to remember her by, he need never forget what her face looked like. Jack walked over to the large desk and opened the top drawer. He lifted a large book out and opened it up, sliding the paper inside and closed the book. Suddenly he felt exhaustion overtake him. He hadn't slept properly since the night before the sinking. That night he had fallen asleep with Rose in his arms and although she had gone by the time he had woken up, he had felt incredibly content. Feeling as though he couldn't fight it any longer, he lay down on the soft bed and closed his eyes, allowing himself to succumb to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Rose slowly opened her eyes as she felt the train come to a stop. She looked out the window and jumped up when she saw the signs throughout the train station indicating that she was finally in Chippewa Falls. She grabbed her coat and tried to lift her trunk from beside her. A man noticed her struggling and offered to assist her with it. Gratefully, she let go and stepped off the train, allowing the man to place it on the platform beside her before nodding to her and getting back on the train. She smiled at him and thanked him for his help before turning away as the train pulled out of the station. Rose sighed as she looked around. Cal had apparently arranged for someone to pick her up from the station but she glanced over the faces in front of her and couldn't identify anyone that could be there to pick her up. She decided to try and head outside to see if someone was there.

...

"_I can't believe this. I can't believe he's thrown me out." _ Grace murmured to herself. She felt rage build up in her that even though she had successfully got rid of Rose, Jack still wasn't interested. She sat in the car until it finally pulled up outside the station. Lifting her hat from the seat and placing it on her head, she accepted her drivers hand as he helped her climb down. Grace's maid appeared behind her and followed her towards the main entrance. Suddenly, Grace stopped in her tracks.

"Miss?" her maid said, almost walking into her. "Is everything alright?"

"I don't believe this." Grace complained under her breath as she caught sight of the red headed beauty sitting on a bench outside the station entrance. "Wait for a moment." Grace quickly started tapping on the side of her face, pulling at her skin, trying to make it go redder and redder. Grace prided herself on being a good actress so she forced out tears and rubbed her face, trying to make it look as though she was completely dishevelled. Grace turned around and started to walk towards Rose, sniffing and rubbing her eyes.

"Rose?" Grace croaked.

Rose looked up, thinking this was someone to pick her up but was shocked when she came face to face with Grace.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" Grace asked, wiping tears away that fell down on her cheeks. "I thought you were going back to Cal."

Rose shook her head before looking back down.

"I hope you're not here for Jack." Grace said.

"What if I am?" Rose snapped.

Grace lifted her hat from her face, revealing her sunken, wet eyes and her red bruised looking cheek. Rose opened her mouth in shock. "What happened to you?"

"Jack." She replied. "He's out of control."

"He did that to you?" Rose couldn't believe someone as soft and gentle as Jack could have done such a thing but she was well aware how much Grace had done to him and how much he couldn't stand her. Could he have snapped? Grace nodded, pulling the hat back down over her face.

"He's destroyed the house. I tried to calm him down but he turned round and slapped me. I had to get out before he did anything else." Grace forced more tears from her eyes, trying to make this look as realistic as possible.

Rose suddenly felt herself in a dilemma. Would she go to Jack? Try to help him? What if he lashed out at her too? Or should she cut her losses, be grateful that she wasn't on the receiving end of it and go back to her mother?

"Don't trust him Rose. I've known him a lot longer. He's always been hot headed like this. He is just extremely good at hiding it when he wants to." Grace warned.

Rose nodded. "Thanks for the advice Grace."

"Please ensure you listen Rose. I know we've not always seen eye to eye and I apologise for what I did to you on Titanic, I honestly didn't know at the time how bad things were and that we were sinking otherwise I would have never done it." Grace said, putting on her most sincere voice.

Rose looked up at her and nodded. "Thank you."

Grace turned to her maid who looked completely shocked. "We must be going now. Good luck Rose."

"And to you Grace." Rose watched as Grace disappeared into the station, her poor maid following quickly behind her. She looked over at the trunk beside her and tried to work out what to do.

Grace smiled to herself as she got inside the cool train station. She turned to her maid who was standing meekly behind her. "Well that was simple." She laughed, wiping her face and tried to make herself look presentable again. Her maid knew not to question Grace's decisions or actions and correctly decided to stay quiet. She didn't want to anger her. It was a long trip back to her parents in California and she didn't want to have to deal with Grace's anger for the full journey.

Rose continued to question what Grace had told her. She knew that Grace was right that she hadn't known Jack for too long but she knew him well enough. She knew him a lot more intimately that Grace did and she trusted her own judgement that she wouldn't have allowed someone to touch her the way Jack had if she had any inclination that he was dangerous. She thought back to the man that she met on Titanic. The man that she had spoken about her most secret dreams and wishes with, who she had danced with and allowed him to draw her nude. She allowed him to share a bed with her and had been involved in sexual relations with him. Surely she knew him well enough? If only for a few days. But this made her heart pound at the very thought of him. She got butterflies in her stomach when she imagined his face and shivers ran up her spine when she thought of his touch on her naked skin. She continued to stare at the trunk, knowing what was inside. All of her belongings that she had in the world plus his father's coat. The money and necklace were safe in her purse which she clutched onto. The sun was beating down on her and the heat started to build up inside her as she questioned what she should do.

"Miss DeWitt Bukater?"

Rose's head snapped up. She hadn't been called that in over a year and the voice startled her. In front of her a man stood. He was dressed in a black suit and he removed his hat. He had a kind face and gave her a smile which caused his little moustache to crease under his nose, the hairs no doubt tickling his nostrils.

"Yes?" Rose finally answered.

"Mr Hockley sent me to pick you up. You're going to the Dawson residence aren't you?" He asked.

Rose looked at him, then back to her trunk. His question was rolling around in her head. "I...I..." Rose couldn't make himself answer her.

"Miss?" He furrowed his brow. "Miss? Are you coming?"


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N – OK now I am really spoiling you all! 3 chapters in 1 day! Thanks to you all who have been sticking with this story particularly jackdawson-love, AddyD90 and kateandleogottalovethem. Thank you so much!**

**Chapter 24**

"Huh? Sorry?" Rose looked back up at the man in front of her.

"Are you coming Miss? I'll drive you to the Dawson's." He offered, stepping forward to lift the trunk up from the bench.

Rose stood up. "Yes, sorry. Yes, I'm coming." She shook her head, trying to get rid of these thoughts. The more she thought about it, the more she doubted Grace. This woman had been against her and Jack from the beginning. Jack had been nothing but honest with her since they met. Why did she doubt his integrity now? Rose smiled as the man picked up her trunk and carried it to the car. He placed it in the back and opened the door for Rose.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name?" Rose looked him over.

"Oh I'm sorry Miss. My name is Sanders." He tipped his hat to her and held out his hand to help her into the car.

"It's nice to meet you Sanders." Rose took his hand and got into the car.

"And yourself Miss." He smiled at her before closing the door and getting up in the front seat. He turned out the car and pulled out from the station.

Watching from the door was Grace. She stood staring after the car as it travelled the road towards the Dawson mansion. Anger boiled up inside her. What was wrong with this girl? Why couldn't she just back off and leave Jack alone? Looking around, she noticed that the driver that had brought her to the station was still sitting outside smoking on a cigarette.

"James!" she yelled, walking quickly towards the car, drawing attention from the people she ran past. She wasn't caring though.

"Miss? I thought you were getting on a train?" The driver stood up from against the car.

"I was but I've...forgotten something. I need you to take me back urgently." She insisted, climbing into the back of the car. Her maid climbed in behind her, unsure of what was going on. James nodded and closed the door behind them and climbed into his seat.

Rose sat staring out the window, taking in her surroundings. She really liked it here. It was so green, with trees and fields all around.

"Here we are Miss." Sanders finally said after they had been driving for some time.

Rose looked up through the window in front of her and gasped as she saw the huge white house appear in the distance. Coming from a rich family, she had seen her fair share of over the top houses that her friends and relatives stayed in and they always seemed too flashy for her. But this house, this was Jack's home and somehow it suited him. It looked homely despite its size and grandeur. It was over three stories and large pillars at the front and balconies that travelled the distance of the house. It was surrounded by trees and flowerbeds at the front with a long pathway leading to a massive brown door. Rose smiled as the car pulled up to the front of the house and came to a sudden stop. Sanders quickly climbed down from his seat and opened the door for Rose. As she stepped in the warm air, her hair glistened under the sunlight as it fell down in front of her face. She brushed her fingers through her hair, pushing it behind her ears as she looked up to the house. She took a deep breath and walked towards the door, pausing before finally knocking on it. She turned around and smiled as Sanders removed her trunk from the car. Eventually she heard the door opening and turned to face it as the door opened slowly. Rose inhaled sharply as she came face to face with a sharp dressed man.

"Yes Miss?" He smiled.

"I'm here to see Mr Dawson." Rose replied.

"Ah of course, please come in." He opened the door wider, allowing her to enter. "Please take a seat in the sitting room and I'll fetch Mr Dawson. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No I'm fine thank you." Rose said, taking a seat in one of the large chairs, her back to the archway that led to the main foyer.

"As you wish. Please excuse me." He nodded, disappearing out of the room.

Rose sighed as she looked around. The room she was sitting in was truly beautiful. It had such high ceilings with wooden beams travelling the full length of them. The decor was neutral and the full length windows allowed light to shine through the full room. Not the destruction scene that Grace had emphasised to her. Everything looked as though it was sitting in its exact place.

"Honestly Langford, I am not in the mood for company right now." Jack complained as he walked down the large staircase following his butler.

"But Sir, this young lady wishes to see you." He insisted.

"This better not be Grace." Jack muttered.

"No, it isn't Miss Grace." Langford confirmed.

Jack huffed as he walked into the sitting room. "Can I help you?" He asked as he noticed the woman's feet placed together in front of her. Rose took in a deep breath while she willed herself to stand up. "Hello?" Jack asked again, getting impatient.

"Hello Jack." She finally said, leaning forward to get to her feet.

Jack felt that familiar feeling of butterflies flapping against his stomach lining as the flash of red hair appeared in front of him. For the past few days he had only been able to see her in his dreams and whenever he looked at the picture he had of her but now here she was, standing in front of him. He could hardly contain his excitement but at the same time, he was scared to let go in case he woke up, in case it was all a cruel dream.

"Jack?" she asked again. "Are you alright?"

"Rose? Is that really you?" Jack stared at her.

She smiled and took a step towards him. Finally she held out her hand and took his in hers. As soon as he felt her touch, he knew she was real. He tightened his hand around hers and pulled her towards him, enveloping her up in his arms and holding her to him, unable to let her go in case she disappeared again. Rose felt his body press up against her and it was at that moment that she knew exactly that she could trust him. She knew that everything Grace had told her was lies. How much more would she attempt to split them up?

"I thought I'd lost you." He whispered into her hair. "How did you get here?"

"Cal." Rose smiled, pulling away from him to take in his features.

"Cal? What do you mean?" Jack looked at her confused.

"He came to me last night. He knew I wasn't happy so he gave me to ability to vanish again. He gave me money to get a train plus he arranged for a car to take me to the station and to bring me here." Rose laughed. "I told you he was a good man. He has someone back in Philadelphia that he's looking to marry. He told me he would deal with my mother for me."

"You're serious?" he laughed.

Rose nodded.

"Well I'm going to have to write to him and thank him." Jack smiled. "Where are your things?"

"Outside." Rose said. "It's nice to see you smiling."

"You're the first thing I've had to smile about since Sunday." Jack leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. Rose lifted her head slightly so their lips were almost touching. Jack felt as though he was going to explode if he didn't feel the taste of her soon. He brushed his lips against hers before finally giving in and covered her mouth with his. He felt her whole body suddenly relax as she allowed herself to be taken in by him. Eventually he pulled away from her and kissed her forehead. "I've missed you so much Rose."

"I've missed you too." She smiled.

"Come on, let's get your things and get you settled in." Jack took her hand and led her out to the front. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her tighter to him as Sanders appeared from beside the car.

"Hello Miss." He smiled. "Here are your things."

"I'll get that." Jack offered, lifting the trunk with both hands, turning to smile at Rose. "Come on darling."

"Just a second." She said, turning around to face Sanders. She took a step towards him and held out her hand to him. He looked at her for a second before accepting her hand. She shook it gently before leaning forward and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He stared at her unsure of what to do. "I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me today."

"It's quite alright Ma'am. I'm happy to help." Sanders smiled, his face reddening.

"Please pass on my thanks to Mr Hockley if you happen to see him." She smiled.

Sanders nodded. "I will Miss."

Rose smiled and turned to follow Jack inside. Sanders laughed to himself and climbed into the car and drove away, nodding to the driver that was parked behind him. He glanced into the back of the car at the young blonde woman sitting in the back seat. He wondered who she was as he followed the road out of the Dawson estate.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Shall I take that upstairs?" Langford pointed to the trunk that was lying in the middle of the foyer.

"Yes, please." Jack said, turning back to Rose and kissed her cheek. "I can't believe you're really here."

"Well I am." She smiled.

"Come on, let's get you settled in." Jack took her hand and pulled her towards the large staircase. Rose looked up at it. She loved how to split at the top to go off in different directions, much like the grand staircase on the Titanic. She smiled at the memory as she followed Jack up the steps. They walked past several doors before Jack finally stopped outside one of them. He turned the handle and opened the door into his bedroom. He scanned the room before closing the door again. "Not in here." He smiled. Jack continued along the hallway until he stopped at the next room and open it and sighed as he saw the trunk sitting in the middle of the room.

"Here we are. You know, you don't need to stay in here." Jack said, looking down at the floor.

Rose smiled. She knew exactly what Jack was getting at but she knew that if she was to fit back into this way of life she would need to follow correct etiquette which meant continuing to sleep in their own rooms. "I'll be fine here thank you."

Jack's face fell as she answered but he knew better than to push it. "Whatever makes you happy Rose."

"I have something for you." Rose smiled, quickly changing the subject. She placed her purse on the bed and walked over to the trunk and opened it up, slightly screwing her face up at the smell of damp. She tried to ignore the smell as she lifted up the bundle in her arms and walked over to Jack, handing it to him. He took it in his hands and allowed it to fall open, his eyes widening as he realised what it was. "I can't believe you kept this." He pressed it to his face, trying to ignore the stench and attempting to find any trace of his father's scent.

"I couldn't throw it away." Rose smiled. "And that's not all." She walked over to the bed and picked up her purse, opening it. She lifted out the large item and Jack stared at her as he realised what she was holding, before finally breaking into a wide grin and letting out a laugh.

"He really did think of everything didn't he?" Jack chuckled. "He must have lifted it before we left to find you."

Rose smiled and sat down on the bed, motioning Jack to sit beside her. He happily obeyed, taking her hand in his. "You know I never did get a chance to find out if he was definitely not on the survivors list." He told her, looking down at her pale fingers.

"We can look into that. They've been starting to publish names in the papers." Rose promised, kissing his cheek. He looked up at her and smiled and started leaning towards her almost touching her lips. Suddenly Rose jumped as she heard a loud banging coming from underneath them. "Who is that?"

"I don't know but wait here; I'm going to find out." Jack jumped up and rushed to the window and turned on his heel as he realised he couldn't see the door. Rose watched as he disappeared out of the door and rushed down the stairs.

Jack managed to get to a few steps before the bottom and sighed as he saw Grace standing in the door way.

"Where is she?" she yelled, rushing past Langford who was standing holding the door open. "Huh? Where is she? Is she staying in my room? Wearing my clothes? It's like I was never here!"

"Grace, what part of disappear do you not understand? I do not know how many more times I can tell you. I do not want you here." Jack shouted, now standing right in front of her.

Rose shuddered as she heard the commotion coming from downstairs and decided to go down to help Jack. She wandered slowly along the balcony and started descending the stairs. She was almost at the bottom when Grace finally noticed her.

"You!" she screamed, rushing past Jack and straight up the few stairs till she reached Rose and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You! You've destroyed my life! I was going to marry him but you ruined it." Grace shook Rose hard by the shoulders before finally letting her go, pushing her as hard as she could. Rose screamed as she felt the floor disappear from underneath her feet and could only watch as she helplessly tumbled towards the marble floor.

"Rose!" Jack screamed, running towards her. But it was too late. She clattered to the floor with the thud, thumping her head against the banister as she fell. Grace stared in horror as she watched Rose fall away from her. Jack fell to his knees and scooped Rose up in his arms, running his hand over her head trying to find any trace of cuts or bumps. He pulled his hand away and recoiled as he saw a trace of blood on his fingers. "Langford! Call for a policeman and the doctor!"

"Yes Sir." He rushed to the phone that was hooked up on the wall.

"Jack, I...I'm..." Grace stared down at the scene in front of her, unsure of what to say.

"Just stay back Grace! I mean it, stay away from her." Jack warned, holding up his free hand. "Rose? Darling? Wake up, please wake up."

Her eyes remained closed as Jack clung onto her tightly. Jack turned quickly as he heard a loud knock on the door. The policeman appeared in the room, studying the scene in front of him.

"What's all this then?" he finally asked. "Mr Dawson? What's happened here?"

"Her! She did this. She did this to Rose!" Jack yelled, pointing up to a still stunned Grace.

"Miss, I think you should come with me." The officer quietly said, motioning for Grace to come down the stairs. Finally she did, walking past Jack and Rose and towards the policeman, following him out of the door.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared and the doctor appeared in the doorway some time later. He kneeled down beside Rose and encouraged Jack to lay her flat on the floor. Jack disappeared with Langford through to the next room under instruction from the doctor so he could examine her. After a while, he called him back into the foyer. Jack's eyes darted around as he finally saw Rose sitting in and arm chair, her eyes opened.

"Rose!" Jack cried as he rushed to her, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her hand. "Are you alright?"

Rose nodded and smiled weakly. "I'm fine." She finally mumbled.

"She's gone Rose. She'll never get near you again darling, I promise." Jack reached up and kissed her cheek.

"She'll need plenty of rest." The doctor interrupted them. "I've cleaned the wound up on the back of her head but she may feel dizzy and disorientated for a while but she should make a full recovery."

Jack smiled. "See, you'll be fine." He kissed her hand gently. "Come on, let's get you upstairs and into bed to rest."

Rose nodded and slowly got to her feet, holding onto him and allowing him to guide her upstairs.

"Shall I make some tea?" Langford called after him. "Some sugary tea may help the shock."

"Yes, that would be lovely, thank you." Jack called back. They finally made it up to Rose's room and Jack helped her into her nightclothes and into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. "We'll be alright now darling." He whispered, kissing her gently on the forehead as he watched her drift off to sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Over the next few weeks, Rose adjusted well to life with Jack. She had felt uncomfortable attending gala's and business dinners with him at first as she was sure that people were staring at her, talking about her and it made her extremely nervous.

"Don't be silly, everything will be fine." Jack had told her. After she had gone along to a few events, she finally managed to feel settled and even started to make some friends – something her mother would have never allowed her to do. Whenever she had accompanied Cal to these things, Ruth had always drilled it into her that she was there to help Cal make a good impression. She was there to look good on his arm. People will always want to do business with someone who seems to have a stable life according to Ruth. But Jack never put that pressure on her, and she was happy to try and go along with these events again if it was important to him. Mind you, Jack wasn't keen to get involved at the beginning either. After Rose had appeared on his doorstep, he decided that he had to face up to the fact that it was likely his father was lost. They had contacted the white star line and national newspapers who all held survivors and victims' lists but John hadn't appeared on either of them. Someone from the New York Times had told him that it was likely that his father's body hadn't been recovered. He had told them how several boats had searched the waters in the days following the sinking trying to recover as much as they could but the bodies that they found were too decayed to try and bring back. Because of this, they allowed them to be buried at sea. Jack had to hold in tears whilst he was being told this, struggling to think of his father like that. Rose had clung to his hand as they had been told the news, trying to reassure him that she would be there for him and as much as he kept himself composed on the journey home, Rose could hear him break down in his bedroom when they had arrived home and it broke her heart to think of him so vulnerable. Eventually John's lawyer had told Jack that he had to face up to things and deal with his father's estate. After much persuasion, Jack had finally agreed and Mr Brooks, his father's lawyer, had arrived at the house to go through all the paperwork. Naturally, everything that was his father's automatically came to Jack whether he wanted it or not. The house was his, all the servants, the car, all the money and of course his father's business. Jack was thrown in at the deep end, automatically becoming chairman of Dawson Steel before the month was out. Trying to be as supportive as possible, Rose couldn't have planned for just how lost she felt after Jack started getting more involved in the business. He was away a lot and she spent most of her time alone in that huge house, trying to find things to do. Eventually she found herself making close friends with her maid, Annie. She reminded her of Trudy, the young maid that had been lost with the ship and despite social boundaries telling her that she shouldn't be friends with the help, Annie was the only person within a 5 mile radius that was around Rose's age and she enjoyed spending time with her, helping her with sewing and she taught her how to cook some simple dishes for Jack. Rose knew she had to keep involved with people or she would eventually go mad. She didn't want to seem ungrateful to Jack by complaining. She had everything she could ever want. She was living in this beautiful house and had the love of a wonderful man but every so often the loneliness bothered her and she found herself pacing the rooms thinking of those friends that she lost that cold April night. She never heard from her friends that she was travelling with again. She knew they couldn't have survived and it pained her to think of little Eddie but through her tears, a small smile would creep onto her face as she thought of his mischievous little grin. She forced the thoughts to the back of her mind and wandered outside into the sunlight. It was the middle of July, almost 3 months since the ship had gone down, and Rose was thankful that both she and Jack had been moving on from that fateful night and getting on with their lives despite that every so often she could hear him crying himself to sleep through the walls. She wanted to go to him and make feel better but she knew it was best to leave him. He had to be able to get over this himself and she had to allow him to do it in his own way. Rose wandered through the gardens, smiling as she looked over the flowerbeds that the gardeners had been tending over the last couple of weeks. Rose lifted her dress up slightly above her feet as she walked through the grass which was still damp from the slight rainfall that they had the previous night. She walked down towards the river which ran through their grounds. Rose loved this part of the garden because it was as though she had her own private river as no one else could get to this part of it. She and Jack would sometimes come down here when it was sunny and she would sit down on a blanket that they had brought and Jack would draw her. Her desk drawer was full of little sketches that Jack had drawn for her and she found herself looking through them at night when he was gone. She leaned against the tree that she normally sat by and stared out across the water, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Rose?" the voice came from nowhere and startled her. She turned in the direction that she thought it came from and looked around. Seeing nothing, she sighed and turned back to the river.

"Rose!" the voice got louder and Rose turned again, looking all around her. And then she saw him.

_John._


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Rose sat bolt upright. She was in her bed wrapped up tightly in the crisp white bed linen and her night gown was drenched in sweat. She tried to run her fingers through her hair but her curls were tightly tangled preventing her from doing so.

_John?_

Why was she dreaming of him? It had all seemed so real. He was there, standing right in front of her, looking exactly the same way that he did the last time she had seen him. It wasn't possible. He was gone. Perhaps she was feeling as though she was to blame? The doctor she had seen shortly after the sinking had described it as survivors guilt and told her that it was extremely common for anyone who had survived such an ordeal to blame themselves for the loss of others. It made sense to her but Jack refused to listen. He told her over and over again that he didn't blame her at all for the death of his father. In his mind, the blame lay firmly with Grace.

Rose quickly clambered out of bed and rushed to the bathroom where she was violently sick. Hearing the commotion, Jack leapt from his bed in the next room and rushed next door where he found Rose clinging to the toilet in the corner of the room. He ran over to her and rubbed her back, pulling her hair from her face.

"Rose? Are you alright?" He asked, immediately worried for her.

"Jack? When did you get home?" she gasped.

"Only a couple of hours ago. Langford told me you had gone to bed some time ago so I didn't want to wake you. What's wrong?" Jack asked, gently caressing her back.

"I saw him Jack." She confessed.

"You saw who?" Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Your father." Rose admitted, refusing to meet his gaze.

Jack suddenly let go of her hair and stood up quickly, backing away from her before he finally met the closed door.

"Jack?" Rose stared at him, pulling a tissue from the box beside her and wiping her mouth. She stood up and began walking towards him.

"What do you mean you saw him?" Jack asked, unsure how to take this news.

"I saw him down at the river." Rose began drying the back of her neck off as much as she could.

"My father's dead Rose." Jack was almost yelling now, taking Rose by surprise. She stared at him, unsure of what to do.

"Do you not think I know that?" she finally snapped back. "And don't speak to me like that."

Jack immediately softened, knowing he had crossed a line, but it still pained him when people spoke about his father, even Rose. "I'm sorry Rose. I shouldn't have shouted."

"No you shouldn't have. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed." She said, pushing past him.

"Wait!" Jack called after her, grasping onto her arm. "Please tell me what you mean."

"I dreamt about him." She answered. "I was down at the river and he called after me. I turned and there he was, standing right in front of me. It was then that I woke up."

Jack smiled. It was a dream. Just a dream. It didn't mean anything. "Go back to bed Rose. I'll see you in the morning." He smiled, kissing her gently on the cheek before walking through to his room. Jack climbed back into bed and pulled his covers up to his chin. Just a dream, it didn't mean anything at all. But it was then that Jack thought back to the dreams he had before he met Rose. He believed they were trying to tell him something, trying to guide him in her direction and look at him now, he was living with her. A woman he had never seen before apart from in his dreams. What if her dreams were something similar? Trying to tell her something? Jack knew he had to keep an eye on it. He would ask Rose to keep him informed if she had any other dreams about his father but in the meantime he still had so much to get used to. He had told Rose that he wanted to spend time travelling the world and seeing so many different places. While on the Titanic, he had imagined taking Rose along with him. Showing her all of these wonderful places but now what could he do? He had to stay in Wisconsin and deal with his father's company even though he didn't want to. Not even that, but his colleagues were pressurising him to get married. They told him that it would be good for business if he was a married man, preferably with a family. That type of person was who potential investors would want to do business with. Someone stable and serious, not a single man who could take off at any moment. And although Jack loved Rose with all his heart and couldn't imagine anything better than making her his wife and having countless children with her, he didn't believe that was what Rose wanted. She had almost married before and look how that ended up. They hadn't spoken about it before and Jack didn't want to push it, plus he wanted to do all the things together that they had spoken about. So far they hadn't managed any of it. Since they had arrived back in Wisconsin, Jack's time had been taken up with work and he felt guilty that he was leaving Rose too much but he knew that he owed it to his father to make sure his business continued to be successful, he couldn't allow it to fail.

Jack sighed as he buried his head deeper into the pillow. Surely he could have it all. He could have his life with Rose that he wanted but at no expense to the company. He had men countless numbers of men who seemed to be able to balance everything extremely well. Surely he could do that. Taking a deep breath and rolling his eyes, he finally closed them, forcing himself to sleep.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Over the next few days, Rose faced John in her dreams constantly. She felt as though he was trying to tell her something but she couldn't work out what it was. Opening her eyes, she stretched her arms up above her head and let out a loud yawn. Smiling to herself, she got up and wandered across to the door, pulling on her robe and tightening it around her. She opened up the door and signalled to her maid who was dusting the bookcase at the other end of the hallway.

"Annie, can you assist me to get dressed?" Rose smiled.

"Of course Miss." Annie walked into the room and followed Rose to her closet and lifted out the items she had chosen to wear. Jack had taken Rose for a business trip back to New York a few weeks before and had treated her to a couple of days of shopping, insisting that she bought whatever she pleased. Rose had enjoyed that day. She had always hated looking around for clothes because her mother had insisted her wearing restrictive dresses that she felt extremely uncomfortable in but Jack allowed her to choose what she wanted. Rose picked out a yellow day dress to wear since it looked as though it was going to be a glorious day. Annie helped her dress and then assisted in pinning her hair up. Rose thanked her and walked down stairs where she could smell breakfast being cooked. Jack was already up, sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

"Good morning darling." He smiled as he saw her appear in the large doorway.

"Good morning Mr Dawson." Rose sat down in the chair at the opposite end of the table and waited for her breakfast to appear. "Did you sleep well?" she asked him.

"Very well thank you." Jack forced a smile. Truthfully he hadn't slept well since Titanic. Since the night he had fallen asleep with Rose by his side, he struggled to sleep without her there, constantly waking up because he became aware of the large space beside him. They had agreed that they would have no more dalliances until they wed which Jack was happy to agree to because he believed that was what Rose wanting whilst Rose had agreed to it because she thought that was what Jack wanted. Honestly though he would give anything to be able to touch her again and looking at her sitting across from him, looking as beautiful as she was playing havoc with him. Jack had been thinking over the last few days how settled he was. He hadn't imagined that being with someone would make him so happy. He had always brushed off the prospect of getting married as something that he had no interest in but now that he was with someone that he genuinely loved, he could see himself getting married to her. Why couldn't they do everything that they said they were going to? Surely being married wouldn't change much about that? Surely it would actually make it easier for them when it came to staying in hotels that they were married. He didn't want to go away on a trip and have to stay apart from her.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Jack smiled looking up at her. "Yes darling, I'm wonderful."

"Good." Rose took another piece from her plate. She wasn't sure if she believed him but chose not to question him.

After breakfast, Jack gave her a kiss on the forehead explaining that he would need to go into town for a while. Rose smiled as she watched him leave, sad that she was having to spend yet another day alone. Jack was well aware of what she was probably thinking and laughed to himself, knowing that he needed to go alone for this. He got into the car and watched as the house vanished behind him as his driver took him into town. Jack wandered around the stores for a while, trying to pluck up the courage to go into the store he really wanted to. Eventually he walked inside and scanned the room for someone to help him.

"Why Mr Dawson?" an older woman appeared from the back. "What a pleasure to see you here."

Jack smiled. It had been a while since he had been in the store but the woman who owned the store had known his family for years and had met Jack when he was just a boy.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"I'm looking for an engagement ring." Jack told her, finally allowing himself to smile at the thought of marrying Rose.

"Oh wonderful! Congratulations." She said, walking across to a large glass cabinet.

Jack's eyes scanned over the rings in front of him. Rose had described the ring that Cal had given her and in his opinion, it sounded ghastly. Large and uninteresting. Something that was given just to show off the Hockley money. Although Jack had enough money to buy every item in the store, he had a specific idea of what he wanted. Something special, something that suited her. After a while, the woman had shown him almost every ring in the store and Jack hadn't seen anything that he could see Rose wearing.

"I do have one more. It's a little bit more expensive but very special. We have to keep it locked up in the safe." She disappeared to the back of the store and came back after a few minutes holding a little velvet box. She opened it up and Jack's eyes widened.

"That's it." He said quickly.

"But dear, you've not even looked at it yet." She laughed.

Jack's cheeks reddened but he knew that was the ring. It was very similar to his mother's engagement ring that had been lost with the Titanic and also bore a striking resemblance to the heart of the ocean, a necklace that had become very special to him and Rose. It had a large blue stone in the middle and although it wasn't a blue diamond like the necklace, it was just as beautiful. Surrounding the sapphire was several smaller diamond stones. The stones were set on a gold band and looked as though it would fit her perfectly. It was large but not over the top. _Perfect._

"I'll take it." Jack smiled.

The woman nodded, putting the ring back in the box and closing it over. Jack paid for the ring and popped it into his pocket. "Thank you again." He called as he walked out the shop, waving behind him. He smiled to himself as he begun to walk quickly towards the car. Jack turned a corner towards the back of the buildings and walked straight into someone coming towards him.

"Oh I'm sorry Sir." Jack said, pulling the man to his feet, not caring about the mans appearance. He was dishevelled with a long beard and unkempt hair. "Are you alright?"

The man nodded, trying to steady himself against the wall. He finally looked up at Jack, catching his gaze. Jack suddenly let him go and backed away from him, his eyes wide in shock. They stood there staring at each other for sometime before the man finally spoke.

"Son?"


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

"Rose!"

Rose was sitting in the library curled up on a sofa reading a book when she heard Jack yelling from downstairs. She closed the book over, setting it down on the table before making her way out of the room and walking down the stairs.

"Rose!" Jack yelled again.

Rose finally made it to the bottom of the stairs where she saw Jack standing, a massive smile plastered over his face.

"Jack? What's going on?" Rose asked.

"Look, you're not going to believe this." Jack grabbed her hands, pulling her gently down the last few stairs.

"Not going to believe what? Jack? What's going on?" Rose asked again.

"Stand here." Jack said excitedly before walking back over to the door. He smiled back at her before slowly opening the large wooden door. Rose watched him intently until her eyes rested on a figure standing in the doorway, his back to her.

"Who's this?" she looked at Jack and then back at the figure. Slowly it started to turn around. As he turned, Rose's eyes glanced over him before finally resting on his unshaven face. But through the beard and moustache that had grown, Rose only had to look into his eyes to know exactly who he was.

"John?" she whispered, trying to take it all in.

He smiled, nodding at her. Suddenly she was in his arms, holding him tight to her. John laughed softly as he wrapped her arms tight around her.

"I don't...I don't understand." Rose gasped, pulling back from him and walking back to Jack, taking his hands in hers. "How is this possible?"

"It's a long story." Jack laughed. "Come on, dinner should be ready. Father why don't you go upstairs and get dressed and cleaned up. Take a bath or something. Come down for dinner and we can all sit down and talk."

John nodded, slowly walking up the stairs before he finally disappeared from sight.

"Jack, how did you find him?" Rose asked, unable to take it what was going on.

"I bumped into him. He had been wandering around town trying to find his way home. Luckily I was out today otherwise he might never have got here." Jack sighed. "Come on, let's go into the dining room."

Rose nodded, glancing back up to the staircase before following Jack through to the dining room and sitting down for their meal. John eventually came down stairs looking a lot more like his old self. He was dressed in one of his suits and he had managed to wash and shave. He sat down at the table and they began to eat their dinner. Rose was full of questions but Jack had asked her to hold off until John showed that he was ready to talk. When they had finished eating, Rose became more and more agitated the longer they sat in silence.

"So I can only imagine you all have some questions." John finally broke the silence, smiling at them both.

"We didn't want to push you father." Jack smiled.

"Not at all." John laughed. Over the next couple of hours John explained what had happened. How he had finally managed to swim to a set of stairs after he had probably been carried the full length of the ship by the wave that had come crashing down on him. The little boy he had found had died from the force of the water, no doubt drowning when he couldn't get to the surface and John had no choice but to leave him. He had managed to get to the boat deck just as the almighty ship had begun its descent into the Atlantic. He had managed to cling onto the railings before jumping before the ship finally went under. He had swam as hard as he could before reaching a collapsible lifeboat when a third class man had hauled him into it. He had sat in the boat whilst the Titanic had gone under to her watery grave, watching, knowing that likely, somewhere on that ship was his son. When their boat was finally picked up by the Carpathia, John had wandered around the ship trying to avoid everyone he might know. He kept his head down and refused to speak, most people just assuming that he was mourning the loss of someone and left him be. When they finally docked in New York, he avoided the crew who were going around asking for names. He didn't want to feel like he survived when he thought it likely that he had lost his only son. Over the next couple of months, he slept rough or on the odd occasion that someone took pity on him, he stayed in some motels and on the floor of some peoples houses. On several occasions, he thought about taking his own life, thinking there was no point in him living now. He had lost his wife and now he was without his son. Eventually he made it back to Wisconsin after telling his story to a man in New York who had given him money for a train ticket. He knew that he couldn't walk into a bank and expect them to know who he was. He looked completely different and had no form of identification, anyone in a bank would likely call the police. He had finally managed to get back to Chippewa Falls that morning and it was only by luck that he had bumped into Jack, both just as shocked as the other to see they were both alive.

"I have a whole new respect for people Jack. People who don't have everything handed to them. It's changed my whole outlook on life. No longer will I turn my nose up at a beggar in the street because I've been there. Maybe only for a short time but now I know how it feels." John announced.

Rose smiled at his change of heart. He had never seemed like someone who would turn away from someone in need but Jack had insisted that he would never been seen to help someone like that. They had soon enough moved into the sitting room where John had insisted on opening up their most expensive bottle of champagne.

"Are you sure you want to do that? You said you were saving that for a special occasion." Jack had warned.

"What else could be more special than life?" John had laughed. "Don't waste a moment Jack, you never know when you'll be taken from this world. Don't take anything for granted."

Jack thought for a moment at his words. He was right. Jack didn't intend on letting anything go past him now. He had Rose with him, Grace was long gone and now he had his father back.

"You're absolutely right father. I'm not going to let anything slip through my fingers." Jack was sat in an armchair in front of a large fire place with Rose sitting in the chair opposite him, his father in between them. He didn't move from his chair, not the most traditional of methods, but he turned in his chair to face Rose and pulled the velvet box which had been burning a hole in his pocket all afternoon. "Which is why I would love it if Rose would agree to be my wife."


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

"Jack?" Rose stared at him then back to the exquisite ring in front of her. She glanced back up to John who was sitting with a massive smile on his face. He had genuinely grown close to Rose and couldn't think of anyone more suited to his son. "Do you mean this?"She finally asked.

"Of course I am." Jack laughed reaching over to grab her left hand. "So will you do me the honour?"

Rose finally pushed her way past the shock and started nodding. "I would love to."

Jack smiled, taking the ring from the box and sliding it onto her finger.

"Wonderful news!" John cheered, standing up to lift the champagne bottle that was sitting on ice. He poured the remainder of it into all their glasses before calling Langford and asking him to fetch another bottle. "This calls for a toast." John raised his glass to them. "To a wonderful partnership. A match made in heaven. These last couple of months have extremely testing but we have come out the other end all in one piece. And now nothing would make me more happy than welcoming Rose into our family."

Rose smiled, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. She had never felt so welcome in a family in her life, not even her own.

Jack pulled her to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her, kissing her softly on the cheek. Rose stared at her hand which rested on Jack's shoulders. The stones on her finger looked as though they were meant to sit there forever and at least this time she was happy to see the gold band wrapped around her finger, unlike the large stone that Cal had insisted she wore. She could tell by looking at it that Jack had picked it purely with her in mind, knowing what she would like.

Over the rest of the night, the three of them sat in front of the fireplace talking and laughing together. Eventually Rose could feel tiredness overcome her and finally excused herself from the sitting room before heading up to bed.

"Goodnight young Rose." John smiled. "You've got a good one there Jack." He said after she had left the room.

"I know." Jack nodded. "I love her so much father."

"I can tell. Now, tell me, what happened to Grace? I can't imagine she disappeared without a struggle." John raised his eyebrow.

"Well you could say that." Jack took a drink. Over the next hour, Jack told him what had happened. He explained how Rose had been taken away when they arrived in New York and how Cal had helped her disappear and when she appeared on his doorstep. Then how Grace had appeared not long after her, causing chaos in the reception area and how she had pushed her down the stairs.

"So what happened to her?" John asked.

"She got taken away by a police officer but I know she's back at her mother's in California. Hopefully that'll be the end of her." Jack took another drink, mentally crossing his fingers.

"Well here's hoping, the last thing we need is her causing problems when she finds out about the wedding. Speaking of that, have you thought about when you want to set a date?" John queried.

"Not yet. Preferably before the year is out though." Jack smiled. He really didn't want to waste any time, he wanted to marry Rose as soon as possible.

"Well, we can all sit down over the next few days and sort out all the details." John said, getting to his feet. "I'm going to go to bed now Jack, it's been a very long few days. I'm looking forward to getting a good night's sleep."

Jack nodded. "Good night Father. It's good to have you home."

"It's good to be home son." John shook his hand, pulling him to his feet and wrapping him up into a hug. Jack was in shock as he placed his arms around his shoulders. His father didn't normally display this much emotion or affection and he genuinely believed this whole experience had changed something in him. He watched as his John disappeared out the room, closing the door behind him. Finally Jack sat back down in the arm chair. He reached across to the table and lifted the crystal bottle of whisky and poured himself a glass. Looking around, he tried to take in how much his life had changed in the last couple of months. Before he boarded Titanic, he was hating life being stuck in this house, having to deal with Grace constantly around and not feeling as though he was going anywhere. But now, his father had changed his whole outlook on life. He was engaged to an amazing beautiful woman and he was finally starting to enjoy life. What could possibly go wrong?

**A/N – Sorry for a slightly less than interesting chapter but I had to do a bit of bridge building to get to the next stage of the story. Hopefully will get the next chapter up soon.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Over the next few months, Rose's excitement about their upcoming nuptials grew. It was now December and their wedding was now only a week away. She had chosen her dress with the help of Annie who had now grown to be more like a sister to Rose. She had picked a dress that was so different from the one she had worn the day she ran out on Cal. Her dress was a beautiful ivory coloured a-line cut with lace sleeves and a cowl neckline. Wearing it, she felt comfortable and confident.

"Oh Miss, Mr Dawson isn't going to know what's hit him when he sees you in this." Annie had told her.

John had taken care of everything financially for them and ensured that nothing would be too much, however Rose had insisted on having a small affair. She didn't want a massive wedding like what she would have had marrying Cal. She was happy just having those around her that she cared about and she had insisted on their staff being there as guests, and hiring out help instead. She had become very close to them all and wanted them to be there as though they were part of the family. John had happily obliged, laughing at how different an answer he probably would have given the previous year. Rose had been amazed when she had received a letter through the post from Cal not long after she and Jack announced their engagement congratulating them.

They had everything planned now and it just a case of waiting for the day to come around. Rose and Jack had decided on a 6 months long honeymoon, touring around Europe before coming back and visiting some other states before coming back when Jack would then have to start assisting with the business again. John had been extremely impressed by how well Jack had coped with running this whilst he'd been gone and as much as he wanted Jack to take over, he knew that he had to give them some time alone before he would ask him to get involved again. Plus he was well aware that after they were married, it probably wouldn't be much longer before they made him a grandfather so he wanted them to spend some time together alone before they had children to look after as well.

That evening, they were all sitting down to dinner when Rose cleared her throat. "Darling? I have something to ask of you."

"Yes? What's wrong?" Jack asked, placing his fork on the table.

"Nothing's wrong. It's about the wedding." Rose smiled.

"What about it?" Jack suddenly looked alarmed.

"I want to invite my mother." Rose said, staring down at her plate.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked after a few seconds.

Rose nodded. "I know we hadn't got along but I think if my mother sees how well we are doing and how happy I am then she'll back off."

Jack looked over at John before turning back to Rose. "Invite whoever you like Rose. Perhaps though we've left to too late though? She might not be able to get here in time." Jack shrugged. He wasn't really keen on Ruth being there after how she treated Rose but it was up to her who she had there.

"If there's any issues with her trying to find somewhere to stay, she is more than welcome to stay with us for a few days." John suggested, ignoring the stares coming from Jack across the table.

"Really?" Rose smiled at him. "That would be wonderful. I'll arrange to get a message to her right away."

John nodded, continuing to eat his dinner. Jack felt unbelievably uncomfortable at the thought of Ruth being at their wedding but decided against saying anything. This was Rose's decision and he wasn't about to start telling her what she could and couldn't do. They continued eating their dinner in silence until John finally excused himself.

"Are you sure you want her there Rose? I'm not trying to stop you but I just know how she treated you and I don't want you getting hurt." Jack reached over and grasped her hand.

"Honestly Jack, I think she'll be alright. She wanted me to marry Cal because she wanted me to do well for myself. She won't be any trouble because she'll see how well we are doing and how good we are together. I promise, it will be fine. And if we need to, we can ask her to leave." Rose tried to offer a silver lining.

Jack nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere. He watched as Rose excused herself from the table and wandered down to the study to no doubt arrange to get a wire to her mother.

...

A few days later, they eventually received word back from Ruth that she would be happy to attend their wedding and took up their offer of staying with them. The day before the wedding, there was a knock at the door. Langford went down and answered the door, opening it wide and allowed Ruth to walk inside. She looked around, clearly impressed by her surroundings.

"Good afternoon Mrs DeWitt Bukater, we've been expecting you." Langford smiled. "Please have a seat; I'll fetch Mr Dawson and your daughter."

Ruth nodded and sat down. Her maid appeared in the doorway with Ruth's bags before standing behind her, waiting on Rose.

"Miss Rose?" Langford knocked gently on her bedroom door. Rose stood from her dressing table and walked across the room and opened the door. "You're mother is here."

"Thank you Langford. I'll be right down." Rose closed the door and quickly rushed across to the mirror on the table and checked her appearance. Making sure she looked alright, she went along to Jack's office and knocked on the door before opening it. "Darling? She's here."

Jack stood up and walked towards her. Rose looked him over and smiled. He was dressed in one of his best suits and looked extremely handsome. His hair was slicked back out of his face which allowed Rose to see deep into his blue eyes. He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "Come on then, let's get this over with."

Rose smiled before following Jack down the stairs. Ruth stood as she saw Jack walking towards her, smiling as her eyes ran over him. She seemed impressed with the man that Rose had chosen to marry.

"Mrs DeWitt Bukater." Jack took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And you Mr Dawson. I'm pleased to see Rose has been chosen by such a fine gentleman." Ruth smiled.

"Oh no, she chose me." Jack smiled, turning to bring Rose to his side. She was nervous, Jack could tell.

"Hello mother." Rose finally stuttered.

"Rose!" Ruth smiled, pulling her into her arms. "It's so good to see you again. I was so worried when you had disappeared from New York. Mr Hockley told me that you were gone when he went to wake you the next morning."

"Yes, I couldn't stay." Rose decided against explaining Cal's part in her disappearance. He had helped her and she wasn't about to land him in trouble with Ruth. "I questioned whether I'd done the right thing but now I know that I did."

"Yes, well you've certainly done well for yourself." Ruth motioned to the room they were in.

"Well, Mrs DeWitt Bukater, I'll have Langford, my butler show you to your room where you can get some rest or freshen up. Dinner is at 6." Jack smiled, turning to Langford who was standing by the door. He nodded and proceeded to lift Ruth's bags and carry them up the stairs with Ruth following slowly behind him.

Rose turned to Jack and placed her head on her his shoulder. He laughed softly and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her tightly to him. "It's only a for a few days." He reassured her, knowing that she was finding this more difficult than she thought she would. He pulled her from him and rubbed her arms gently. "Only a couple of days and you'll finally be Mrs Dawson."

Rose smiled. She loved the sound of that. She looked over Jack's gentle face and rested her fingers on his cheek. She kissed him gently on the corner of his lips and he wrapped her up in his arms. Over dinner, the conversation and begun strained but eventually they had loosened up and started to enjoy each other's company. Eventually after dinner, Ruth stood up.

"Thank you for your hospitality Mr Dawson. I hope to meet your father soon." Ruth smiled.

John had been working away and was due back the next day.

"I'm sure you'll see him tomorrow." Jack smiled.

"Well I'm going to retire. It's been a very long day." Ruth placed her napkin on the table and walked around to Rose. She kissed her gently on the cheek before saying goodnight and disappearing upstairs to her room. Jack walked over to Rose and knelt down beside her. He took her hand, running his fingers over her engagement ring.

"Are you tired darling? You look exhausted." Jack looked concerned.

"A little bit." Rose agreed. She stood up from her chair and walked towards the door. "Jack?"

"Yes?" Jack stood up.

"Will you come upstairs for a minute? I want to show you something?" Rose asked.

Jack nodded, following Rose upstairs. She opened her door and walked inside. "Close the door." She said as Jack entered the room. He did as she asked and closed the door over. He walked towards her, wondering what she was wanting.

"Listen, I know we should wait..." Rose stood in front of him and ran her hands up the lapels of his suit.

"Rose?" Jack stared at her.

Rose slipped his jacket from his shoulders and leaned forward, gently kissing his lips. "It's just been too long. We haven't been together properly since the Titanic and I know that we should probably wait until our wedding night. But if I'm being totally honest, I don't think I can." Rose slowly started to unbutton his shirt, slipping it off.

"Are you sure?" Jack smiled, kissing her again.

"Take me to the stars Jack."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Before they knew it, it was Saturday and finally their wedding day was upon them. Rose had woken up in one of the family's friends houses a few miles away. Jack had tried to insist that they could both stay in the same house, it was large enough that they probably wouldn't bump into each other but Rose was adamant. She wanted to do everything traditionally and correctly and had kissed Jack goodbye the previous night and was driven to the house with her mother and Annie. Rose didn't have any sisters and Annie was the closest thing she had. Over the past few months she had grown extremely close to Annie and had insisted that she was her bridesmaid. Rose could tell the horror on Ruth's face when she had told her about this. Using the help in your wedding? It was beyond scandalous but Rose was sure she wanted this. She had gotten up and wandered downstairs to the dining room where she was served breakfast. Rose stared at it. Her stomach was churning with nerves.

"Rose, you must eat something. It's going to a be a while before we sit down for our meal later on." Ruth had persisted.

"I know, I'm just nervous." Rose said, playing with her food with her fork before finally taking a bite.

"It's only natural. But you're happy Rose, You're going to marry the man you want to be with. And seeing you two together since I've got here makes me realise how wrong I was to try and get you together with Mr Hockley." Ruth admitted.

Rose lifted her head and stared at her. "Do you really mean that?"

Ruth nodded. "I was too concerned with myself and worrying about how I was going to survive. I pushed you away. I had stopped myself thinking about you when you left but when I got that telegram to say you were on the Titanic and coming home, I was so happy. But then we heard the news about the sinking and I thought I'd lost you all over again." She quickly took a bite of her food, keeping her head down.

Rose stared at her. She wasn't used to this level of honesty from her mother and it floored her. She stood from her chair and walked across to the other side of the table. She knelt down and took her mother's hand. "Don't think about that any more mother. We're together again now." Rose smiled, reaching up and kissing her cheek. Ruth quickly wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. "Mother?"

"Yes?" Ruth pulled away from her.

"Will you give me away?" Rose asked, unsure of what she would say. Rose had been considering asking her since she had arrived at their home a few days earlier.

"Rose? You really mean that?" Ruth looked completely gobsmacked.

Rose nodded. Ruth was the only parent she had left. She had considered asking John to do it but Jack had wanted him as his best man.

"I'd be proud to." Ruth smiled, wrapping her up in her arms. "Come on now, you must finish your breakfast." She said, discreetly wiping tears from her eyes.

Rose smiled and walked back down to the other side of the table and sat down. The nerves in her stomach had suddenly lifted now that she knew she had her mother's support. She managed to finish her breakfast before standing from her chair. She looked up at the clock on the wall and realised she only had a couple of hours to get ready.

"Come on Mother, can you help me?" Rose asked.

Ruth smiled as she stood from her chair. "Of course."

Over the next couple of hours, Ruth and Rose were up in one of the huge bedrooms getting ready. Ruth had tied Rose's corset before helping her into her dress. Her hair was pinned up in a loose bun with some ringlets falling down around her shoulders and face. Ruth pinned Rose's veil into her hair and straightened it out as it fell down her back. Rose slipped her feet into her shoes and stood in front of the mirror. She stared at herself and suddenly remembered how she felt the last time she had done this. Her mother had been fussing around her and telling her to hurry. She had felt trapped and suffocated but as she stared at herself in the mirror, she felt happy and content. She smiled at herself and turned back to her mother.

"Are you ready?" Ruth asked.

Rose nodded enthusiastically, picking up her flowers from the table. There was a knock at the door and Ruth walked over to answer it.

"The car is here." One of the butler's told her. Ruth nodded and closed the door again.

"It's time Rose." She smiled.

Rose nodded and took one last look in the mirror before following her out of the door. Annie was standing waiting on her and she gasped as Rose appeared in front of her. "You look beautiful Miss. Like a floating angel."

Rose giggled like a little girl. "Thank you Annie. You look very beautiful yourself."

"Thank you." She curtseyed slightly.

"Come on then, let's get going." Ruth smiled, leading Rose towards the staircase with Annie following behind them. They walked down to the car that was parked outside and climbed inside. Rose had insisted she didn't want anything too grand like the horse and carriage that Cal had organised the last time so was pleased when she saw the car sitting on the gravel path. They all climbed inside and the driver closed the door after them and jumped in the front, pulling the car away from the house. They drove for a few miles before finally arriving outside the church.

Jack stood at the altar at the front of the church. He was fidgeting like crazy and his father was trying not to laugh at him.

"Come on Jack, stop being so nervous." John whispered.

"I can't help it." Jack said, his hands shaking. He turned back to look up at the door, his eyes glancing over all the people that were there. Mostly family members but John had invited some of his business associates along. He turned back to the minister standing in front of them. He was smiling at Jack's nerves, it was nothing he hadn't seen before. Suddenly the doors opened and the music started. Jack felt his whole body freeze and a daren't turn around. He could sense his father turning his head and he glanced over at him. He noticed a smile appearing on his lips and watched as his father turned back to him. John looked him in the eyes and mouthed the word "wow" before turning back to look up the aisle.

Eventually Jack could sense someone beside him. He forced himself to turn around and his breath caught in his chest as he stared at her. She was beautiful. Her skin melted into the colour of her dress but her hair and eyes popped. Jack suddenly felt all the nerves disappear from him as he stood there with her. As the music finally stopped and the minister began his readings, Jack felt as if he was floating on air. Everything was going so well that he suddenly had a horrible feeling. What if Grace showed up? She would have no doubt heard about the engagement and the wedding. He couldn't imagine that she would be happy about it. What if she came here and tried to ruin it? Suddenly Jack felt as though he couldn't breathe. His palms were growing sweaty and his breathing was becoming shorter. Jack glanced behind him, trying to quickly look over the people sitting there, trying to sense any sign of commotion but there was nothing.

"Jack?!"

Jack's head whipped back around to the front. John was nudging him in the arm. He smiled and looked back at Rose who was looking at him with a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?" she mouthed.

Jack shook his head and smiled. He forced himself to forget about Grace and prayed quietly to himself that the ceremony would go without a hitch.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Jack finally allowed himself to relax as they all sat down for the reception afterwards. The ceremony had gone wonderfully well and now here he was, sitting at his table with his beautiful wife by his side. They had dinner and danced all night as all the guests watched them intently. To the outside world, they must have looked like the happiest people in the world, completely engrossed in each other and completely in love. John couldn't help but smile as he watched them. He had happily let Rose join his family and was proud to call her his daughter in law. She was perfect for Jack and he loved how she brought out the best in him. She had brought a smile to his face for the first time since his mother had died.

Eventually, the crowds started to disperse and there was only a few people left. Jack had held out his hand to Rose and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, let's get back Mrs Dawson." He smiled, giving her a cheeky wink.

Rose laughed, knowing exactly what was on his mind and she was happy to allow him to lead her. They said their goodbyes to those that were left and walked out to the waiting car which was taking them home. John and Ruth had agreed to stay at the house that Rose had stayed in the night before to allow them some privacy.

When they arrived home, Jack stood in front of Rose before they went inside. She stared at him, wondering what he was doing. Suddenly he scooped her up into his arms and pushed open the door with his foot before carrying her over the threshold. Rose laughed as she clung onto him.

"Just had to do things properly." Jack laughed as he placed her back on the ground. She smiled as they became silent, their eyes locked on each other. After staring at each other for what seemed like hours, they were in each other's arms. Jack couldn't get enough of her. She had looked beautiful in her wedding dress but Jack couldn't wait to see her out of it. Eventually they made it upstairs before finally falling into bed together. That night, Jack made love to his wife, shutting out all of the outside world and focusing only on her.

...

The next morning, Jack woke up as he felt the sunlight drift over his face. He tried to move but he felt as though he was pinned down. Looking around, his face softened as he saw Rose curled up beside him. Her hair was lying wildly around her face and her cheek was pressed against his chest and her hand lay on his toned stomach. Jack's right arm was resting underneath her and he curled it up around her shoulder. She groaned slightly as she felt Jack's hand resting on her nakedness. Jack smiled. Although they had slept together before, this was the first time he had woken up and she had been lying beside him and suddenly he felt unbelievably content. He looked up at the window and could see the sun rising from behind the mountains. Despite the brightness of the sun, Jack knew it would be extremely cold. It was the middle of December and winters in Wisconsin were unbelievably cold. Jack turned as he felt Rose moving beside him. She slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them gently as she turned to see Jack beside her. She smiled and leaned down to kiss him softly. Jack placed his hand on her cheek and pulled her to him, wrapping her up in his arms. They didn't say a word, they didn't have to. Rose rested her head back down on his chest as he lay his arms around her.

"Rose?" Jack whispered.

"Hmm?" Rose answered sleepily.

Jack nudged her gently. "We should get up soon. We're leaving soon remember?"

Rose sat back up and smiled. Today was the day they were leaving for Europe and she couldn't wait. Although they both felt bad that they wouldn't be here to spend Christmas or new year with their families, they knew that John wouldn't have allowed them to delay their honeymoon. They're clothes had been packed up a few days before so all they had to do was get ready. Eventually, they got out of bed and had got washed and dressed before sitting down to breakfast.

When they had finished, they made their way outside to the car. Rose had been extremely nervous about the fact they were making their way back to New York to get on another ship but Jack had insisted they would be fine. How unlucky would they be to be involved in two shipwrecks within a year? They had emotionally said goodbye to John and Ruth before finally climbing into the car. Rose watched from the back window as they vanished from sight. She sighed and rested her head on Jack's shoulder, little teardrops falling from her eyes.

"Hey?" Jack noticed this. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just sad to be leaving them behind for so long." Rose admitted.

"You'll be fine once we get over there. Wait till you see Europe Rose. You'll love it. Paris, Rome, Madrid. It's amazing." Jack kissed her forehead.

Rose smiled and gripped onto his hand as they made the long drive to New York.

**A/N – Slightly dull chapter I know but I'm coming up to the end now. I'm hoping to have this done within the next 2/3 chapters. So much for this being a 10 chapter limit story!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Over the next few months, Jack and Rose toured around Europe stopping in all of the major cities. Paris, Madrid, Rome, London. Rose had insisted on seeing all of the major cultural cities. She wanted to see things that she would probably never see again. She was well aware that when they went back, Jack would become more and more involved in his father's business and it was likely he wouldn't get time off like this that often so she was keen to squeeze in as many sights as she could. A month before they were due back at home, they arrived back in the United States with Rose extremely glad to have managed to get home on a ship safely this time. She hadn't enjoyed the journey and had panicked at every little noise that she had heard. Their first destination when they arrived was Santa Monica. Jack had told Rose all about the last time he had been there a few months before he had set sail on Titanic. He had told her all about the pier that had just been built a few years before and he promised her that he would teach her how to ride a horse properly. Rose had laughed when he had joked about her riding a horse like a real cowboy. She didn't think she would be able to do it but she trusted Jack to show her. He had taught her so much in the last few months that when she was with him, she felt like she could do anything.

Eventually they arrived in Santa Monica. It was a warm May afternoon and Rose was glad to finally be back on home soil. The previous month, they had been in England and they had decided to go to Southampton on the anniversary of the sinking. A memorial to the band that had played until the final moments had been unveiled and Jack and Rose felt it right to go along and pay their respects. Now they wanted to put that chapter of their lives behind them and moved on. They had decided to stay in Beverly Hills, a fairly new and upcoming town and they were booked into a brand new hotel. As they pulled up outside, Rose stepped outside the car and looked up at the building.

"The Beverly Hills Hotel?" she smiled. It looks very grand.

"It is." Jack laughed, taking Rose's hand and pulling her towards the entrance.

They went inside and were quickly shown to their room. It was dark outside as they had arrived pretty late and Rose was keen to get to bed. As they got inside, Rose went straight into the bathroom to wash and Jack sat on the bed and started to undress. He was already under the sheets when Rose came through. She climbed in beside Jack and cuddled up to him. He took her in his arms and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

"_Jack?"_

_He looked around trying to work out who was calling him. He knew it wasn't Rose. It definitely wasn't her voice._

"_Jack? Why did you leave me Jack?"_

_Jack was surrounded by thick fog and was struggling to see his hand in front of his face. He looked up, and in front of him, a figure was emerging from the darkness._

"_Who's there?" he called, his voice echoing around him._

_From the shadows came a laugh. A giggle almost and Jack couldn't place the voice at all. He began walking towards the figure, trying to make his eyes adjust. _

"_Jack? Don't you understand?" it called. "We're meant for each other. The sooner you realise this, the easier it'll be."_

"_No." Jack said strongly. "I am only meant to be with Rose."_

_The laugh went again. But this time, it was like a cackle."Not for long Jack, not for long."_

Jack's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright in his bed. Rose awoke as soon as she felt him moving beside her. She reached her hand up to his back and pulled it away as it touched the sickly slimy feeling of sweat that was covering his skin.

"Darling?" she sat up, alarmed. "Are you alright?"

Jack put his head in his hands and brushed his fingers through his hair trying to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "I'm fine." She said quickly.

"Jack? You're trembling." She was really worried about him now.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. "I'm fine honestly, just a bad dream." Jack walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaving Rose confused and feeling utterly helpless. Jack had been having dreams on and off for the last couple of months and it seemed that the closer they got to America, the worse they became. Now they were in California, he seemed completely terrified by them. The look in his eyes as he had walked towards the bathroom had scared Rose. She sat waiting, leaning against the enormous headboard until Jack finally came out of the bathroom.

"Are you alright?" she asked as the door slowly opened.

Jack nodded. He looked a lot better now than he had been before and as he sat back down on the bed, he gave Rose a brief smile.

"Honestly, I'm fine. Go back to sleep." He encouraged her, lying back down beside her.

Rose nodded, still not entirely convinced but she didn't want to push him. She felt Jack's arm fall over her hips, pulling her back to his stomach. She eventually allowed herself to fall asleep in his embrace, but Jack stared straight ahead, unable to close his eyes for fear of his dreams taking over his subconscious again. He had heard that voice before. _Not for long Jack. _ What did that even mean? Was it a threat? Jack wouldn't normally pay attention to his dreams but after the dreams he had which led him to Rose and the dream she had about his father, he wasn't too sure if he could just forget about it. Finally after what seemed like hours, Jack finally allowed his eyes to succumb to sleep.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Over the next few days, Jack dreams went from bad to worse. The figure in his dream continued to threaten his relationship with Rose, almost promising that he wouldn't be able to spend much more time with her. Jack had become agitated and worried, keeping Rose close to him at all times, constantly looking out for anything or anyone that might hurt her. He had a feeling that he knew who was in his dreams and Jack knew that this was her hometown but surely Grace couldn't be behind this.

Eventually Jack tried to push the thoughts to the back of his head. He knew that he was worrying Rose by the way he was acting. He had been getting up in the middle of the night two or three times and Rose was growing more and more concerned for him. He looked awful, not the normal attractive man that she had married but his face was pale, his eyes sunken and he had dark shadows and bags forming under his eyes. Trying to get on with things, he had promised Rose that as part of their last full day in California they would visit the Santa Monica pier and go horse riding on the beach. Rose had been pleased that that morning over breakfast, he had seemed like his old self, laughing and joking and Rose was hopeful that things were getting back to normal. She had tried to force down her food but hadn't felt too well.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, noticing that she was picking at her eggs.

"I'm fine Jack." Rose smiled. "Just feeling a bit queasy."

"Well if you don't want to go anywhere, we can stay here." Jack offered.

"No, not at all. This is our last day. I want to enjoy it." Rose insisted.

"Very well darling." Jack knew better than to argue with her. She was incredibly sweet but very feisty. "But if you don't feel right, tell me and we'll come back alright?"

Rose nodded in agreement.

After breakfast, Jack pulled out his day jacket and put his hat on. He lifted his cane from the side of the door and waited until Rose appeared. She finally came out the bedroom wearing a beautiful summery yellow day dress and a large intricate hat. Jack smiled as he watched her. If it was possible, Jack believed that she grew more beautiful with each day that went by. He smiled at her and crooked his arm, allowing her to slip her hand through it. They walked outside and got into their waiting car which drove them down to the Santa Monica pier. Jack stepped out of the car when they arrived and held his hand out to Rose, assisting her out of the vehicle.

"Wow." Rose gasped as she looked down the pier. "It's like we'll be walking on water."

"You've been on plenty ships and this is amazing to you?" Jack teased.

"Don't make fun of me." Rose pouted.

Jack laughed. "Accept my apologies my darling." He said, kissing her gloved hand.

They walked arm in arm along the pier, laughing and joking as they went and as they passed men fishing off the side of the rails. Eventually they made their way down onto the beach. They had spent the next couple of hours with the horses on the sand. Jack had shown her how to ride like a proper cowboy, and they drew plenty of dirty looks from passersby. Rose hadn't cared. She was having a wonderful time with Jack and she finally felt free and happy. After they had finished, Jack had sat down on a blanket on the sand and Rose had wandered down to the edge of the water. She kicked off her shoes and lifted her dress up to the middle of her calves and laughed as she dipped her feet in the cool water. Suddenly she stopped where she was. She felt dizziness overcome her and dropped her dress, causing it to land in the water. Jack narrowed his eyes, noticing that she didn't look steady on her feet. He ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, preventing her from falling.

"Rose? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Jack said anxiously.

"Yes, sorry. I just felt a little bit dizzy. The heat must be getting to me." Rose smiled.

"Come on, let's get back. The heat can't be helping and we haven't eaten since breakfast." Jack said, holding her hand as he walked her up towards the steps. Rose nodded, allowing him to escort her back to the hotel. It had started to get dark but it was still extremely warm. The promenade had grown quiet and there was hardly anyone around. Jack and Rose walked back towards the street where they had left their driver with the car, turning into an alleyway which they had walked down before. In daylight, it hadn't looked too bad but Rose automatically felt nervous as they walked along it. She clung to Jack's arm and buried her head into it as they continued to walk. Jack suddenly tensed up as though he was aware of someone behind him. He turned his head slightly and started walking faster as if knowing there was a figure moving around.

"Rose?" he whispered. "Keep walking."

Rose became very tense very quickly. Her fingers involuntary gripped onto Jack's arms tighter as they kept up their pace. Jack quickly glanced behind him and stopped as he realised there was no one there. Rose also turned, following his gaze. She looked around the alleyway but all they could see was crates packed along the sides.

"Must have been my imagination." Jack laughed nervously. Rose looked up at him and smiled weakly before they both turned back around. Rose gasped as she came face to face with a large burly man standing directly in front of her. Rose's eyes began to water as she could smell the stench that came from him. It was a mixture of sweat and stale alcohol and she felt extremely nauseous as it drifted over them. Jack automatically put a protective arm over her, trying to keep her behind him.

"Just let us past please Sir." Jack tried to say with a strong voice.

"Not until you give me your money." The man finally spoke. His voice was raspy and had a southern twang to it. Rose stared up at him, trying to take in his features. He had a large nose and deep brown eyes, almost black. He had a cap on that was clearly too small for the size of his head and he was easily well over six foot tall given that he made Jack look tiny.

"Very well." Jack reached into his pocket slowly to pull his bill fold out. As he did so, the man turned to Rose.

"You're a pretty thing aren't you." He moved slowly towards her.

Jacks hand came out of his jacket and he stepped in front of the man again. "Leave my wife alone." He almost yelled. Suddenly Jack felt the air disappear from his chest as the mans fist connected with his stomach. He cried out as he fell to the ground, completely winded from the man's blows. As he hit the ground, he felt excruciating pain as their attacker kicked Jack hard in the face. He felt as though his face was going to explode. He tried to stand as he heard Rose's screams coming from above him but the pain continued to keep him floored. Rose meanwhile, had been backed against the wall. The man had her pinned against it and his hands were travelling all over her body. Rose felt physically sick as the mans breath landed on her and she tried her best to push him off.

"Jack." She cried out, tears forming in her eyes. She glanced down at Jack who was still trying to get up. The man noticed that Jack was now facing them, still lying on his stomach. He lifted his foot and swiftly kicked him in the face, causing him to fall back, his eyes now firmly closed. "Please, take my purse. Just please don't hurt me." Rose begged, tears now freely falling from her eyes. The man pushed himself up against her and started to lift up her dress. Suddenly Rose felt something snap inside her. She refused to allow this to happen. No man had ever been near her apart from Jack and she wasn't about to change that. The man had lifted his other hand up to Rose's face and clasped it over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Rose opened her mouth wide, trying to ignore the taste from his dirty hand and bit down hard causing the man to let go of her. She fell to the ground and tried to help Jack get up. Suddenly she felt him lifting her up by the shoulders so she was standing in front of him. Looking into his eyes, she could see rage building up in him and felt it too when his hand came crashing down on her cheek. She screamed as pain burned through her face and her hand automatically went to her red cheek. As she gently rubbed it, she noticed the man reaching for something from his pocket. Her eyes widened as the dim streetlight reflected against the metal and she automatically tried to struggle away from him. He continued to grab at her body as Rose tried to force him off. Suddenly, she felt her world starting to spin. Pain seared through her stomach and her hands automatically went to her abdomen. She looked up at her attacker as he stepped back from her, fear shown clearly in his eyes. Rose suddenly crumpled to the floor beside Jack who was still out cold. She lifted up her hands and stared at them as she realised they were wet. Realisation hit her that her hands weren't wet with water but with blood. Her blood. She looked up at the man who was now several feet away from her. As if he hadn't meant to do it, he suddenly turned on his heel and ran off down the alley and round the corner.

Rose felt as though her whole world was collapsing around her. Everything around her started to go fuzzy and eventually she blacked out, collapsing beside Jack.

"What have you done?" a voice caught the assailant off guard and he stopped in his tracks.

"I...I...I didn't mean to." He stuttered.

"I told you just to scare them. Shake them up a little. I saw everything." She said.

"Miss Grace, I didn't mean it." He told her.

"Well we need to get away from here. Quickly." Grace said, turning around and walking quickly from the scene behind her, leaving Jack and Rose in a heap in a dark alleyway, hidden from the world.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N - ok I felt bad about leaving you all in the lurch there so here's the next chapter. Jackdawson-love, that review actually made me burst out laughing and I'm sitting on a train right now! Got some funny looks! Lol **

**just to clarify, rose hasn't been shot, it was a knife, I should have maybe made that a bit clearer. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Chapter 36**

Jack slowly opened his eyes, feeling incredibly groggy. He looked around and tried to work out where he was. The room was white and incredibly bright and Jack wondered if he was in heaven. Suddenly there was a woman in front of him, a woman he didn't recognise.

"He's awake." She shouted to someone behind her. "Mr Dawson? Can you hear me?"

Jack looked around, trying to focus his eyes. "Where am I?" he finally gasped.

"You're in hospital Mr Dawson. You took quite a knock to the head and stomach. You were out cold when you were found." The nurse told him. "You need to take it easy." She ordered as he tried to sit up.

"Rose? Where's Rose?" he demanded. "Where's my wife?"

The woman looked down. "She's being taken care of Mr Dawson, but she isn't good. You have both been here for several hours but we're not sure how long you were lying in that alley way before you were found. The next 48 hours are critical for her."

Jack stared at her, unable to take in what she was saying. He thought back and suddenly it started to come back to him. The man in the alleyway. He remembered being punched in the stomach and falling to the ground. He felt pain in his face and his hand flew to his mouth. When he touched it, he screwed up his face.

"Oh Mr Dawson, please don't touch your face." The nurse reached over and pulled his hand gently down. "You have some cuts to your face plus you have a broken nose."

Jack sighed as he lay back down. He couldn't believe this. This was meant to be his honeymoon and here he was, in hospital nursing a sore face and his beloved wife was somewhere else in this building and the doctors were pretty much telling him that she might not make it. How could this happen? How could he have let her down and allowed that brute to attack her. Suddenly it dawned on him. What had he done to her? Had he forced himself on her? Jack felt rage burn up inside him.

"What happened to her?" he finally asked.

The nurse looked at him. She knew that she had to be honest with him. She looked around before finally looking back at him, as if she was about to share some huge secret or something.

"She's suffered a laceration to her abdomen. We believe it was caused by a small knife but it has cut very deep and she has lost a lot of blood." The nurse looked at her feet before finally back up at him. "I'm afraid she's lost her baby Mr Dawson."

Jack's eyes widened. "Wh...What?"

"Were you aware she was pregnant? The doctor estimates that she must have been around 8weeks." She told him.

Jack stared at her in shock, completely unable to speak. Rose hadn't told him that she was pregnant. He quickly thought back to the day before and it became clear. Her dislike for breakfast. Her dizziness she felt just before the walked along that alley. She had been acting strange for a couple of weeks now but had always insisted she felt fine. Jack hadn't thought anymore of it but now that he knew the reasons, it seemed so obvious. He felt a tremendous amount of guilt and pain rip through him. He had lost his first child, his unborn baby was gone and now there was a possibility that he might lose his wife as well. It was too much to bear and he buried his head in his hands.

The nurse felt an overwhelming feeling of grief for him. She resisted the urge to reach out and hug him instead clearing her throat and lifting up his notes. "Mr Dawson, the doctor will be with you soon. He should be able to discharge you once he has changed your dressing. Once he has, you will be free to go down and see your wife."

Jack looked up, taking his head out of his hands. He was desperate to see her. "Okay. How long will he be?"

"I'll ask him to come here as soon as possible." The nurse smiled and walked out of the room.

Jack sat back in his bed and tried to process everything that had happened. Things had been going so well. How could this have happened? Eventually the doctor appeared. He seemed pleased with Jack's progress and after taking the dressing from his nose and cleaning him up, he allowed him to go.

"Can you tell me where my wife is? Rose Dawson?" Jack asked as he swung his legs out of bed.

"Yes, she's downstairs." The doctor quickly gave Jack the name of the department she was in and provided him with brief directions. Jack nodded that he understood and quickly started to dress after the doctor had left his room. He pulled on the suit that he had been wearing the previous day and slipped on his shoes. He thanked the nurses for their help and started to walk towards the stairs, trying to stop himself from breaking into a run. Eventually he reached the department that the doctor had told him Rose was. He quickly looked around but when he couldn't see her, he walked up to the nurses station and asked if they had seen her. The nurse looked up at him, alarmed.

"Please wait here Mr Dawson. I'll find out what I can." Jack nodded as he watched her disappear around the corner. A few moments later, she appeared with a doctor.

"Mr Dawson?" the doctor asked.

Jack nodded, shaking the doctors hand.

"Please, come with me." The doctor led him into his office. "Mr Dawson, you're wife has been taken back down to the operating theatre. She had been stable but it looks as though she's developed an internal bleed. We had to take her down straight away to try and locate the bleed and stop it."

The colour drained from Jack's face as felt his legs start to buckle from under him. The doctor rushed to him and helped him sit in a chair before he collapsed onto the floor.

"Mr Dawson, I know this is a lot to take in but my team are extremely qualified and I'm confident we will be able to stop the bleeding." He tried to reassure him. "Now she has been down there for some time so I'm sure you won't have to wait too much longer. Now you can stay here, or I can take you to her room and you can stay there."

"I'll go to her room. I want to be there for when she comes back." Jack said.

The doctor nodded. "Are you alright to walk?"

"Yes, I think so." Jack said, getting to his feet.

The doctor led Jack back out of his office and guided him along to Rose's room. The bed was empty and there was a chair beside it. Draped over the chair was the dress that she had been wearing the previous day. Jack lifted it up and sat down in the chair. He held it up to his nose and tried to take in any scent of her that he could find. Eventually, the events of the last twelve hours caught up with him and Jack felt himself drifting off to sleep.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Jack's eyes gently fluttered as they slowly opened. He noticed he was still in the hospital. Suddenly he turned his head towards Rose's bed and almost jumped out his skin when he saw her lying there. He leaned forward and gripped onto her hand. She looked so peaceful lying there. Her eyes were closed tightly but her skin was warm and her breathing was slow.

"Rose?" Jack leaned towards her and stroked her forehead, sliding her hair from her eyes. "Can you hear me?"

Jack was interrupted by a noise coming from the door. He looked up and saw the doctor standing there. He forced himself to leave Rose's side and stood up so he was in front of the doctor.

"Mr Dawson, the operation went very well. We managed to locate the bleed and stopped it. It should heal up nicely." Jack felt a sense of relief wash over him.

"So, she'll be okay?" Jack asked, still unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

"She should make a full recovery." The doctor smiled. "But I believe one of the nurses informed you about the baby?"

Jack nodded.

"I'm very sorry Mr Dawson. But on the grand scheme of things, I believe it was more important that you're wife survived. I know that doesn't make it any easier but she had to be our priority." The doctor explained.

"No, I understand. You're right. There's always time for more children. But I don't think I could have coped if I'd have lost her." Jack said, turning back to her.

"Exactly. I don't see any reason why she can't go on to conceive again in the future. Although, I would encourage waiting until she's fully recovered before trying again." He advised. "She should hopefully awaken in the next few hours."

Jack nodded as the doctor excused himself, leaving him alone with Rose. He didn't want to leave her in case she woke up but now that the doctor had told him it would probably be a few hours before she did, he decided to go outside for some air.

Stepping into the warm sunshine, Jack brushed his hair back from his face before lifting his cigarettes from his inside pocket and lighting one. He sat down on a bench and took a long drag of the cigarette whilst trying to replay everything over again. He sat outside for about fifteen minutes, lighting one cigarette after another.

"Jack?"

Jack looked up and gasped as he saw Grace in front of him.

"Grace? What are you doing here?" Jack dropped his cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out with his shoe.

"I heard about Rose. I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Grace lied. "Jack? Your face." She knew all about it. She had been there but she had to act shocked. She had heard about Jack and Rose's honeymoon plans and when she had heard from a friend that they had seen him in Santa Monica, she went looking for them. She had paid William, the man who had attacked them, to scare them off. Maybe make Rose believe she wasn't safe with Jack but she hadn't counted on this happening. She had tried to get on with things but finally guilt had taken over and she had come to the hospital hoping to see Jack.

"How did you hear about it?" Jack looked at her.

"Oh, you know these little towns. Everyone knows everything about everyone." Grace forced a smile.

Jack looked at her strangely. "Well I should be getting back to Rose."

"How is she?" Grace stood, clearly concerned.

"She should be alright. She's been in and out of surgery since she got here." Jack sighed.

"But they think she's going to be alright?" Grace seemed urgent in her questioning which concerned Jack.

"I hope so. Although our baby didn't survive." Jack waited for a reaction.

"What?" Grace looked at him in shock. She wasn't expecting this. "Your baby?"

"Yes." Jack snapped. "Our baby. Rose was 2 months pregnant but the trauma she suffered to her stomach was too much for the baby to handle."

Grace's eyes began to well up.

"Why are you sad Grace? I'm surprised you're not jumping for joy about this. Given the trouble you've caused for us in the past" Jack argued.

"You think I would wish this on you?" Grace sobbed.

"I wouldn't put it past you." Jack spat, before turning away from her.

"Jack, please." Grace begged, trying to grab onto his arm but Jack yanked it from her.

"Where were you last night?" Jack sneered.

"What?" Grace stared at him. Surely he didn't know about her involvement in this.

Jack couldn't force the dreams that he had been having for the past few weeks from his mind. They had gotten worse as they reached California and Jack felt like he should have paid attention to the warnings in those dreams and the voice...the voice had sounded like Grace. He couldn't help but think she must have had something to do with what happened the previous night.

"Look Grace. I don't know what happened to us last night or who did it but I have a feeling that you know more than you're letting on. I'm going to go back to my wife now. I'm giving you the opportunity to disappear. Leave us alone. Never come near us again. I'm warning you now Grace. If you don't and you cause us any more problems, I will take matters into my own hands. Do you understand me?" Jack warned, sternly.

Grace nodded slowly. She looked at him in appreciation before finally walking away from him, knowing that had to be the last time she would see him.

Jack watched her go before finally walking back to the main entrance of the hospital. He checked his pocket watch and realised he had been outside for an hour. He rushed inside, taking the stairs two at a time concerned that something may have happened whilst he'd been gone. As he finally got to the floor she was on, he rushed down the corridor towards her room, throwing open the door and staring in shock at the sight that greeted him.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

"Rose?" Jack cried. He looked across at her, frozen on the spot. She was lying on the bed and she was surrounded by doctors including the doctor he had spoken to earlier. The doctor turned to face him and started walking towards him.

"Mr Dawson. Can I see you outside?" the doctor asked, leading him out into the corridor.

"Is she alright? What's going on?" Jack asked, an urgency in his voice.

"She's doing fine. The nurse that has been looking after her came in to change the dressing on the wound on her stomach. While she was doing it, your wife moved her hand slightly so we believe she's almost ready to wake up.

Jack's eyes lit up. "Really? So she's going to be alright?"

"We won't know the extent of any lasting damage until she's awake but it's certainly looking a lot better than it was earlier." The doctor smiled. "Will you excuse me? Just sit tight." The doctor pointed at some chairs that were lined up along the wall. "I'm going to go check on your wife and I'll come back and let you know if you can see her."

Jack nodded as he watched the doctor walk back into the room and close the door. He looked at the chairs but couldn't force himself to sit down. He was too agitated so he began pacing the corridor, walking back and forth, willing the door to open again. After what seemed like a lifetime, the door made a squeaking noise as it was finally pulled open. Jack stopped walking and turned to face it, his eyes were alert and his forehead had beads of sweat falling down it.

"Mr Dawson?" the young nurse asked.

Jack nodded.

"Your wife is awake now. Would you like to see her?" The nurse smiled.

Jack hesitated for a second. He suddenly worried that she might have some lasting damage. What if she was paralysed? Or memory loss from the fall she had taken? What if she couldn't remember him? Jack knew that would kill him. If he was to look into his dear wife's eyes and she looked back at him like a stranger. Suddenly he felt his head nodding. Of course he wanted to see her. He had been sat waiting for hours waiting on her waking up and now she was, he couldn't believe he was still standing in this cold hallway.

"Mr Dawson?" the nurse asked again.

"Yes, I want to see her please." Jack said.

The nurse motioned for him to follow her as she walked into the room. Jack's eyes immediately went back to the helpless woman lying on the bed. She was almost unrecognisable from how he remembered her. Her hair was lank and lifeless. Her skin was almost grey, not the usual porcelain colour that it normally was. But then she opened her eyes, and underneath the lids were those enormous emerald eyes. They still had that same sparkle to them and brightened as she forced a smile.

"Jack?" she finally spoke and Jack could feel himself being completely overcome by emotion. He rushed to her bedside and sat down in the chair beside her.

"I'm here Rose." He grasped her hand, running his thumb gently over her knuckles. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Where am I?" she looked around her, confused by the people she could sense at the bottom of the bed.

"You're in hospital Rose. Do you remember what happened?" Jack asked softly.

Rose shook her head. "What happened to you?" she stared at Jack's face. His nose and under his eyes were swollen and his skin had turned a horrible shade of blues, reds and blacks.

"You think this is bad? You should have seen the other guy." Jack laughed.

Rose smiled. She looked over him, trying to remember anything from before she woke up. "I remember being on the beach. We had such a wonderful day."

He beamed. Perhaps she would remember, although Jack wasn't sure if he wanted her to. He thought that perhaps it might be better if she didn't remember, then Jack could deal with the burden of what happened alone. If he could prevent her feeling any hurt from it then he would. "We did have an amazing day. Do you remember anything else?"

Rose shook her head and sighed. Given the fact she was lying in this bed, in hospital when they should have been on their way to another destination told her everything she needed to know. Whatever had happened to them, it can't have been very good.

"It may take a while for everything to return to her Mr Dawson." The doctor finally said. "I think we should give Mrs Dawson some rest now. Come on." The doctor directed the other nurses and doctors out of the room leaving Jack and Rose alone.

Jack watched them leave before turning his attention back to Rose. "Only a few more days Rose, then we can get out of here and go home."

"No." She suddenly said. "I don't want to go home. We have another four weeks of our honeymoon left."

"But Rose, you should be home, resting. You've been through a lot." Jack rubbed her hand.

"Jack, we're never going to get this chance again for a long time. Eventually we will have children to look after as well and we can't disappear off to Europe when we feel like it if we have children running around." Rose laughed, stopping eventually we she saw Jack's face fall. "Jack?"

Jack didn't know what to say. As soon as she mentioned them having children, it became clear to him. She didn't know. She hadn't even known that she was pregnant. How could he tell her?

"Jack? What's wrong?" Rose tried to sit up but winced in pain as she moved.

"Rose, please rest." Jack held onto her shoulder, almost forcing her to lie back down.

"Jack, there's something you're not telling me. What is it?" Rose begged him.

"Oh Rose darling, how do I even begin to tell you this?" Jack placed his forehead on the bed and Rose reached over and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Jack, please, whatever it is I can take it." Rose urged him to open up to her.

He lifted his head and her hand fell to his cheek. She gently rubbed her thumb against it and smiled at him. "Rose, did you feel any different before this had happened? Did you feel different at all?"

"In what sense?" Rose was confused now, she didn't understand what Jack was getting at.

"Like did you feel strange? Ill at all? Were you sick?" Jack asked.

"I guess I've not felt too great the last couple of weeks. I just put that down to the amount of travelling we were doing. Why?"

Jack put his head back on the bed. "It wasn't because of the travelling Rose. You were pregnant." He whispered into the bedsheets. He wasn't sure if Rose had heard him but the gasp she let out told him that she had heard him perfectly.

"Wh..wh...what? I don't understand." Rose said, unable to take in what Jack was telling her. She couldn't be pregnant. She would have known. She thought back over the last couple of months and it was then she realised that she hadn't had her monthly cycle for a while. She had been so wrapped up in their adventures that she had completely forgotten about it. But her feelings of happiness at getting pregnant were short lived as she finally took in what Jack had said. "Wait, you said I_ was _pregnant? Was? As in past tense?"

Jack nodded. He couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"You mean? I'm not anymore?" Rose could feel the tears building up in her eyes.

Jack shook his head. "You lost too much blood. The baby couldn't cope with it." He sobbed. Suddenly he sat up on the bed and lay down next to Rose, clinging onto her frail body. He finally let out all the emotion he had been carrying since he had woken up and clung to her for dear life.

"Jack. Shhhh." She soothed. She ran her fingers over the back of his neck and through his hair, trying to relax him. "It's alright."

Jack eventually managed to contain himself. He stopped crying and allowed himself to look up at her. "This isn't right." He smiled. "I should be comforting you."

"I'm not as fragile as I look Jack. I'm just glad that we're both alright." Rose told him, still brushing her fingers through his soft hair. "We can always have more children."

Jack nodded and buried his head back into her arms. She held him close to her chest so he could hear her heart beating. Eventually Jack lifted his head up to her and smiled as he saw she had fallen asleep. He climbed down from the bed and sat back in the chair beside her, finally allowing himself to sleep after an incredibly long day.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

After a few days, the doctor finally cleared Rose to go home. Jack had received a letter from his father asking how she was. The day after the attack, he had written to him to tell him what happened, and naturally John and Ruth were panicked about Rose. Ruth had been devastated when Jack had explained what had happened to their child. Jack pleaded with them not to travel down to California. Rose was adamant that she wanted to continue with their honeymoon and Jack knew that if her mother appeared, she would probably be talked into going back.

"No Jack. I'm not going back yet." She had said. Jack was well aware that Rose knew her own mind so as long as she felt alright, then he was happy to go along with her wishes. They eventually started to make their way up north, passing through other states such as Nevada and Washington before finally making their way back east towards Wisconsin. In the week or so before they were due home, they stopped in Minnesota.

"Can you believe we've been gone for six months?" Jack laughed one day.

"I know." Rose agreed, slowly eating her dinner. "It's been eventful."

Jack looked up at her. Her voice sounded solemn and sad. "Are you alright?"

"Jack, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to tell me the truth." Rose suddenly said, placing her fork on the table. Jack stared at her, unsure what she was going to ask. "That night..." Jack knew exactly what night she was talking about. "Do you know who is responsible? It's just, I wanted to go to the police but you said that we should just leave it alone. Why? Don't you want someone to be held responsible?"

Jack stared at her before looking down at his plate. "Rose, I can honestly say, I have no idea who attacked us that night." Jack wasn't lying. He genuinely didn't know who the man was. He knew Grace was behind it but He didn't have a clue who the assailant was.

"You're telling me the truth?" Rose asked again.

Jack nodded before standing and walking through to their bedroom. Rose stared at him, trying to figure it all out. She believed what he was telling her but wasn't convinced that she was getting the whole story.

Eventually their journey was over. They were in their car being taken back to the Dawson estate and part of Jack couldn't wait to get back. He had enjoyed his time away with Rose but was glad to get her home. He hadn't been entirely happy that she had wanted to continue on with their trip but at least now, she was home and safe where she could be looked after properly. After a long drive, they finally arrived in front of their house. Jack stepped out and held his hand out to assist Rose out of the car. Suddenly the front door swung open and John and Ruth stepped outside, rushing towards the couple.

"Rose!" Ruth cried, pulling her to her chest. "I'm so glad you're home safe and sound."

"I'm fine mother." Rose insisted before finally letting her go.

"And you." Ruth turned to Jack and he suddenly felt as though he was going to get in trouble for allowing this to happen. "You. I'm so glad you're alright." Ruth pulled her son in law to her, wrapping him up in her arms. Jack was completely shell shocked and glanced over to where Rose was standing with a bemused look on her face.

"Rose darling, how are you feeling?" John asked her, placing his arm protectively around her shoulder.

"I'm fine John, honestly. I'm just very tired." Rose smiled. He nodded and indicated for them to all go inside.

"We have some news for you both. Come on, into the sitting room." John walked towards the room and sat down on one of the sofas. Ruth sat down beside him and Jack and Rose sat in an armchair each.

"Is everything alright?" Jack asked, concerned by how serious his father looked.

"Well no, actually. We had some awful news the other day. We tried to get in touch with you but it proved very difficult in these last few days because you have been moving around so much." John looked down at his hands.

"What's happened?" Rose asked.

"It's Grace." John said.

Jack and Rose looked at each other. She had been playing on Jack's mind for some time now after he had left her at the hospital.

"What about her?" he finally asked.

"She's dead." John told him abruptly.

Jack's eyes widened as he took in John's news. "What do you mean she's dead?"

"We got the news a couple of days ago. It was suicide. A friend found her in her home. She had hung herself." John told him.

Jack felt as though the world had fallen away from him and he was floating. He couldn't digest this. He gripped onto Rose's hand tighter and Rose could do nothing but watch him. The colour had completely drained from his face and he had started shaking.

"That's not everything." John continued.

Jack looked up at him. What else could there possibly be? They hadn't left each other on good terms but he couldn't believe she could do this. Jack could only imagine it must have had something to do with that night.

"She left a note. For you Jack." John placed his hand inside his jacket pocket. "Her family sent it onto me to give to you. Her mother thinks you might be able to make sense of it."

Rose stared at John as he handed over the letter. Her eyes followed it until it landed in Jack's hand. He unfolded the letter and his eyes danced across the paper. He gasped as he finished it, knowing exactly what it meant. To anyone else who wasn't involved, it was completely cryptic but to Jack, it all made sense. She was apologising for everything that she had done and for everything that she had put them through. She took complete responsibility for what happened in California and said that she hoped that she could make it up to him in another life.

"Please excuse me." Jack stuttered as he stood from his chair, letting go of Rose's hand. He walked towards the door and up the stairs as they watched him go.

"Do you have any idea what might have drove her to this Rose?" John asked.

Rose shook her head. She wasn't aware of the altercation that she had Jack had had at the hospital but she had a feeling that she may have had something to do with their assault but Jack wasn't telling her anything.

"I'm just going to make sure he's alright." Rose got to her feet and walked towards the staircase, slowly walking up them to Jack's room. She knocked softly on the door before opening it. Jack was lying across the bed, his head buried into his pillow and he was sobbing. "Jack?" she pushed the door open further before going inside, closing it behind her. She walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down beside him. His face was red from crying and the pillow had a damp stain on it where his cheek was.

"She was there Rose." He finally said.

"She was where?" Rose asked.

"That night. She knew all about it." He sat up and wiped his eyes. "She asked the guy to come after us. She said she just wanted to scare us but obviously he went a bit further than she had expected him to.

Rose's eyes opened wide in shock. She had a feeling that Grace was somehow involved in all of that but she hadn't expected this. "How do you know?"

"She appeared at the hospital just before you woke up. I told her to go away, to never come back and when she admitted to me what she had done, I told her to go or I would take it further." Jack admitted, feeling suddenly ashamed that he hadn't told her.

"That explains why you didn't want me to go to the police." Rose started to put two and two together.

Jack nodded. "I thought this was our way out. We had something on her. It was the only way I could see to get her to stay away from us. I never would have said anything like that if I'd have known she would do this."

Rose placed her arm across his shoulders. "Jack, this isn't your fault. How were you to know she would do this? You were only trying to protect your family."

Jack nodded. He understood the logic but he still couldnt help himself feeling as though he was somehow to blame.

That night, Rose held him close to her until he fell asleep. She knew that finally her life could start to go on and she wouldn't have to keep looking over her shoulder in case Grace showed up but she still felt a sense of sadness for her. If she hadn't have met Jack, none of this would have happened and Grace would still be alive. Suddenly she felt guilty. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she forced herself to finally fall asleep, still clinging onto Jack.

...

A couple of weeks later, they made the journey down to California where they were due to attend Grace's funeral. As they stood at the side of her grave, Rose clung to Jack's hand, knowing that despite her feelings about Grace, she had to be there for him. When it was over, they went back to Grace's family home where Rose met her parents. They were clearly devastated and regardless of what Jack had done to Grace on the Titanic, they still seemed extremely happy that he had made the effort to come down. The next day, Jack and Rose made the long journey home. Jack sat staring out the window of the train, his body facing away from Rose until she eventually took hold of his hand. He turned to look at her and suddenly felt completely overwhelmed by her beauty. He knew he had been neglecting her since he found out the news about Grace and he was extremely grateful that she understood how he was feeling. He placed his other hand on top of hers and gently kissed her cheek.

"From now on, it's just you and me Rose." Jack smiled. "We've got our whole lives ahead of us now. Nothing's going to come between us, I promise you that." And with that he kissed her softly, pulling her towards him. Rose allowed herself to succumb to him and melted into his embrace. She knew that he meant that and that he would ensure that they would be together forever. She stared out of the window as her head rested against his shoulder and watched the world go by as they started to embark on this new chapter in their lives.


	40. Chapter 40

**Epilogue**

Over the next few years, Jack and Rose's relationship grew from strength to strength. They managed to get past Grace's death and a few months later, Rose discovered she was pregnant again. Jack was understandably completely over protective given what had happened to them whilst on their honeymoon. Rose had tried to tell him not to worry, that everything was fine, but he kept his eyes on her constantly. On the 20th July 1914, Rose gave birth to a healthy baby boy. They had named him Jack after his father.

Jack had become more and more involved in his father's business until he was conscripted to war in 1917. Rose was terrified for Jack's safety and prayed for him every night until he finally came home in December 1918, one month after the end of world war one. When he came back, he put aside the horrors that he had seen whilst on the front line and eventually took over the company completely when his father decided to retire in 1920. Eventually they moved down to California, wanting their son to grow up in warmer climates. Whilst there, Rose was approached by a theatre director whilst she was walking along the pier in Santa Monica with her son. She was singing to him as they walked along the pier and watching the rollercoaster go up and down the tracks. The man had asked her to come along to an audition he was holding for a theatre show. Rose had rushed home to tell Jack the good news straight away. After singing her heart out the next night at the auditions, the director was so impressed by her, he offered her the lead in his play. After that, Rose managed to carve out an extremely successful career as an actress and singer.

A year later, in 1921, Rose announced she was expecting again and on 16 May 1922, she had another baby boy. He was named John after Jack's father. John eventually died of a heart attack in 1923 and Rose felt incredibly grateful that he had been able to see his grandchildren.

Ruth lived with the Dawson's in the last few years of her life, finally passing away in 1925. Rose was devastated when she lost her mother. So much so that when her funeral was held, Rose was rushed to hospital with crippling stomach pains. She was told that she was pregnant again but due to the stomach pains and the bleeding she had experienced, she was told it was likely that the stress of losing her mother had caused her to miscarry. Jack was distraught but pulled himself together for the sake of his wife. They had been married 13 years and had come through so much in that time. The doctor had told Rose that it could be difficult for her to conceive again despite still being quite young at the age of 30.

However, fate had different ideas and in 1928, Rose fell pregnant again and gave birth to a little girl on 7 August 1929. Jack and Rose agreed that now their family was complete. Their boys were 14 and 7 and now they had their little girl, who they named Katharine. Rose had fallen in love with the name when she had seen a new actress on Broadway when they had visited New York in 1928. Katharine Hepburn her name was and Rose had seen her when they went to see a show at the Cort Theatre.

Rose eventually decided to give up acting to continue raising her family. She had grown up with maids and nannies around and she was determined that her children would not grow up to be spoilt. She taught them to fend for themselves and to not rely on anyone else to do anything for them.

Yet again, in 1941, America found itself involved in a world war but luckily Jack wasn't required to join up due to his age. He was almost 50 now and was happy to be able to stay home with his family. The news they were hearing back was terrifying and Rose was grateful that Jack was home safe with her. Jack junior and John had both left home to go to University but Katharine was still living with them. A few years later, Jack introduced his mother and father to his girlfriend, a girl he had met whilst living away from home called Louise. Jack and Rose had really taken to her and were thrilled when they eventually announced that she was expecting the couple's first child, a daughter that they had in 1945.

They were given more grandchildren over the next few years from their boys, however Katharine followed in her mother's footsteps and became an actress. She didn't have any children.

In 1968, at the age of 76, Jack took his last breath following a long battle with lung cancer. Rose was still by his side as she always had been. She cursed herself for not complaining to him more about the amount that he smoked but he would have never paid attention. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren and a few decades later in 1996, Rose also passed away. She was one month off her 101st birthday. As she felt herself drift off, as though she was in a deep sleep, she suddenly found herself back on Titanic. She wandered along the deck until she finally arrived at the bow of the ship. Suddenly she realised where she was. This was where she had Jack had first spoken to each other. She quickly looked around before she spotted a figure sitting on one of the benches in the distance. She walked up towards it and smiled as she saw Jack turning his head towards her. He stood up and walked towards her, throwing the cigarette he was smoking over the edge.

"Will you ever learn?" Rose laughed.

Jack smiled. "I'll start listening to you from now on, I promise." He laughed, pulling her towards him and kissing her softly as they were finally reunited. All they had to do now was wait on their children to join them.


	41. Chapter 41

**Authors final note**

**I cannot even begin to explain how much I have loved writing this story. So much so that I only started writing it on the 3 September and now, 6 weeks later, It's completed. I honestly have spent every spare moment I've had writing this and I'm so grateful for the incredible reviews I've had.**

**I wanted just to say thanks to those diehard reviewers that I've had. Honestly I think I'd be lucky if I had 10 reviews on this whole story if it wasn't for you all reviewing on every single chapter! You are amazing! So thanks must go to jackdawson-love, AddyD90 & kateandleogottalovethem. **

**I can't believe it's over now but trust me, I'll be back! I am currently working on a new story. I have an idea for a crossover between Titanic & The Roommate. You know the film with Leighton Meester & Minka Kelly and also the lovely Billy Zane. I was watching it the other day and I have a slight idea for it. It may just be a one-shot though. Mind you, I said that this story was only going to be 10 chapters so you never know! Haha. If you have any suggestions for stories that you'd like me to try then please send me a PM.**

**I hope you will subscribe to me as a favourite author so you can keep up with any new stories I publish.**

**Thanks again for your support. Love to you all!**

**Dx**


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